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CHRISTOPHER MONCK
DUKE OF ALBEMARLE
CHRISTOPHER MONCK
DUKE OF ALBEMARLE
BY ESTELLE FRANCES WARD
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1915
All rights reserved
TO MY MOTHER
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PREFACE
* History is the essence of innumerable biographies,*
says Carlyle. That Christopher Monck, second
Duke of Albemarle, may contribute his mite to
modern knowledge and understanding of life in
England under the last two Stuart kings would seem
sufficient reason for relating his story, even if his
personal history did not claim a place among the
romantic episodes of his day. He was born in an
attic over a tailor's shop with a shadow on his birth-
right ; at the age of thirteen he was a member of
Parliament ; at sixteen he inherited his father's
titles and his great wealth, and took his place in the
brilliant circle surrounding King Charles the Second.
His enjoyment of rough sports and pastimes, his gay
hours at Court, his earnest attempts to embrace first
the statesman's and then the soldier's life, are tastes
and ambitions shared with a dozen others of his con-
temporaries ; but his connection with a successful
treasure hunt and his experiences as Governor of
Jamaica distinguish his career from that of the many.
An adverse fate brought him close to lasting fame and
then rebuffed him. The religious prejudices of the
Devonshire militia deprived him of the power to
suppress Monmouth's rebellion. His own untimely
death, at the age of thirty-five, stopped fiTfther action
in the matter of reforms in Colonial Government,
which he had demanded of the home Government.
These reforms, the necessity for which the Duke of
viii PREFACE
Albemarle had the discernment to perceive, had they
been established, would perhaps have had far-reach-
ing consequences in the history of the American
Colonies.
A few disconnected words written on a piece of
old parchment, forming part of a dispatch-case, once
the property of Colonel Joseph Ward, of General
Washington's staff, first introduced the Duke of
Albemarle to my notice. This fragment proved to
be a part of a royal warrant granted to Christopher,
Duke of Albemarle, and his five associates, the
Gentlemen Adventurers. It gave permission for the
use of two ships with which to make search for a lost
Spanish galleon. From this slender beginning this
volume has developed.
It would be a matter of intense surprise to the
Duke of Albemarle could he realise how completely
he has been forgotten. Of high rank, rich, actively
interested in various pursuits, he made a striking
and brilliant figure in the social life of his day, and
an unexpected amount of detail concerning him has
rewarded the researches of his biographer. These
researches have been conducted among contemporary
records ; state papers, domestic and colonial, private
correspondence, diaries, news-letters, gazettes, and
testimony given before various courts of law. The
original documents have been consulted in all cases
where it was possible to gain access to them. When
the original letter was not available for examination,
quotations have been made from the Historical
Manuscripts Commission Reports. One of more of
these documents can be cited as authority for every-
thing contained in this biography. In its construc-
tion imagination plays no part. ~— *
In the course of my inquiries into the life of the
Duke of Albemarle I have met with the greatest
PREFACE ix
kindness and courtesy in every place where material
was to be found. The quest was necessarily carried
on chiefly in England.
Of the American Ambassador to England, the late
Hon. Whitelaw Reid, many courtesies and kind-
nesses"are remembered. To the Duke of Portland,
K.G., G.C.V.O., is due a gratitude that is not easily
expressed. To his large generosity in permitting
weeks of study among his manuscripts and portraits
preserved at Welbeck Abbey is due what has been
caught of the spirit and flavour of the seventeenth
century. To the Duke of Portland I am further
indebted for introductions to other owners of manu-
scripts. I tender sincere thanks to the Duke of
Buccleuch, K.G., K.T., for use of the Montagu House
Manuscripts, and to the Duke of Leeds and his
agent, Colonel Archer, for access to those manuscripts
preserved at Hornby Castle. To Colonel Charles
Waring Darwin of Elston Hall for particulars from
old accounts. To Mr. Richard W. Goulding,
Librarian to the Duke of Portland, I am under the
greatest obligation for much valuable information
from his great store of historical knowledge, and for
kindness in reading and verifying the manuscript
of the entire book. Grateful acknowledgments are
also made to various gentlemen for courtesies in
connection with manuscripts and books in public
collections : —
Clare College, Cambridge (Mr. J. R. Wardale,
M.A.) ; Emmanuel College, Cambridge (Mr. Peter
Giles, M.A., and Mr. Philip Worsley Wood, M.A.) ;
the Registry of Cambridge University (Mr. J. N.
Keynet) ; the Bodleian Library (Mr. F. Madan) ;
All Souls College, Oxford ; the British Museum ; the
Public Record Ofiice ; the Privy Council Oflice ; and
the House of Lords.
X PREFACE
In America, the Library of Congress, the New
England Historical Society Library, the Boston
Athenseum, the Boston Public Library, the Chicago
Public Library, the Newberry Library, the John
Crerar Library, the North-western University Library,
the Evanston Public Library have been consulted.
I am indebted for many suggestions to Mr. H. P.
Biggar of London; to Professor Charles M. Andrews
of Yale University for much assistance in arrange-
ment of footnotes; to Mr. Henry Kitchell Webster
and Mr. George Bradley Ward for assistance in pre-
paring and verifying the manuscript.
From this list it would be ungrateful to exclude the
name of Christopher Monck. He has proved to be
the most delightful of companions, and has led me
through many ways and brought to me many inter-
esting experiences. If, then, I can restore him in
some measure to the world in which he so much
delighted, it may serve as some return for the plea-
sure he has afforded me.
EsTELLE Frances Ward.
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A., 1914.
CONTENTS
BOOK I
PAGE
THE BOY CHRISTOPHER i
BOOK II
THE YOUNG DUKE 39
BOOK III
THE MAN OF FASHION 6i
BOOK IV
THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE .... 89
BOOK V
THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE . . . • IS3
BOOK VI
THE MAN OF ACTION 221
BOOK VII
THE TREASURE SHIP 241
BOOK VIII
,THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA . . . .259
BOOK IX
THE MAD DUCHESS 337
TABLE SHOWING DESCENT OF GEORGE MONCK 355
APPENDIX
EXISTING PORTRAITS 356
INDEX 357
xi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
CHRISTOPHER, SECOND DUKE OF ALBEMARLE Frontispiece
From a picture by T. Murrey at Wclbcck Abbey.
GEORGE MONCK, FIRST DUKE OF ALBEMARLE To face page 14
From the picture in the National Portrait Gallery.
ANNE CLARGES, DUCHESS OF ALBEMARLE . ,, 22
From an old engraving.
ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF ALBEMARLE . . „ 72
From the picture by Lely at Welbeck Abbey.
NEWHALL ,,96
From an engraving by George Vertue.
CHRISTOPHER, SECOND DUKE OF ALBEMARLE, K.G. 122
From the miniature painted by L. Crosse in 1680, noiu in the
possession of Mr. E. M. Hodgkins.
ALBEMARLE HOUSE ,,156
From an old engraving.
FRANCES, DUCHESS OF NEWCASTLE . . „ 228
From the picture by Mary Beale at Welbeck Abbey.
MEDALS (ORIGINAL SIZE) STRUCK IN HONOUR
OF THE DUKE OF ALBEMARLE AND THE
GENTLEMEN ADVENTURERS . . . ,, 252
xU
BOOK I
THE BOY CHRISTOPHER
' Strong were our Sires, and as they fought they writ,
Conquering with force of arms and dint of wit :
Theirs was the giant race before the flood,
And thus when Charles return'd our empire stood.'
Dryden, Epistle to Congreve, xi. 59.
CHAPTER I
Christopher Monck, second Duke of Albemarle,
courtier, treasure seeker, and colonial governor,
sprang from an ancient family. A pamphleteer of
1659 sets forth ' how he is descended from King
Edward the Third, by a Branch and Slip of the White
Rose, the House of York, and likewise His Extraction
from Richard, King of the Romans.' ^ Despite this
exalted ancestry Christopher Monck might well have
passed his life as a simple country gentleman on the
ancestral estates of the Moncks of Potheridge had
not a boyish misadventure sent forth his famous
father, George Monck, into the world to earn the
honours and riches which descended to his son. This
misadventure is of such import in the unfolding of the
story of Christopher Monck that, although it took
place nearly thirty years before his birth, its relation
begins his biography.
In September 1625 all the little world of Devon
was astir with excitement. A great fleet lay crowded
into Plymouth harbour, planning to singe the Don's
beard. The days of Frobisher and Drake were to be
renewed, to the enrichment of the new King, Charles i.,
and to the lasting glory of the men of Devon. To
add to the interest, the King, with the favourite
Buckingham,^ had journeyed down into the west
^ The Pedigree and Descent of His Excellency General G. Monck.
Printed for W. Godbid over against the Blew Anchor in Little Britain,
1659 : London. Corbett, Monck. Christopher Monck's great-grand-
father's grandmother waS the heiress of Richard Campernown who held
kinship with King John through Richard, King of the Romans.
* George ViUiers, first Duke of Buckingham.
3
4 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
country to witness the sailing of his fleet and to inspire
his subjects to deeds of valour.
Sir Thomas Monck in the old manor of Potheridge,
near Torrington, found himself in a serious dilemma.
Seventeen generations of the Moncks, loyal men, in
unbroken line, had lived on this estate. Surely Sir
Thomas must be among those gentlemen who were
gathering at Exeter to pay their duty to their new
King. Was it not his right as great-grandson of that
Arthur Plantagenet ^ over whose pretensions to the
English throne, in opposition to little Edward v., Par-
liaments had wrangled ? He whom Henry viii. had
clapped on the back — the bluff King's way, had called
cousin, and made him Viscount Lisle and Governor of
Calais ? But the owner of an encumbered estate and
the father of ten children found a serious impedi-
ment in his way. Lavish hospitality had brought him
deeply into debt. He dared not visit Exeter, lest he
should fall into the clutches of the law ; for the sheriff
had long lain in wait to arrest him on behalf of his
creditors. In this crisis young George Monck, the
second son, then some seventeen years old, made off
to the sheriff armed with a bribe and such diplomacy
as was needful to secure a cessation of hostilities dur-
ing the visit of the Sovereign.
So Sir Thomas rode forth in all his bravery to kiss
the royal hand ; but almost at the instant of homage
the perfidious sheriff, blind alike to his word and his
respect for royalty, seized the debtor. Into plague-
stricken Exeter young George followed the false
1 Edward iv.= Elizabeth Lucie.
Arthur Plantagenet= Elizabeth, daughter
(created Viscount
Lisle 1.533).
of Edward Grey,
Viscount Lisle.
I
Frances=Sir Thomas Monck of Potheridge.
i625] TRAINING OF GEORGE MONCK 5
sheriff, and, overtaking him, dragged him from his
horse and beat him as he lay upon the ground.
A sordid story enough, but it resulted in a train-
ing for the boy which determined whether England
should be ruled by Puritan or Cavalier. Obliged to
hurry out of sight lest an outraged sheriff should wreak
his vengeance on him, George Monck sought refuge
in the waiting fleet, and he speedily sailed for Cadiz
under the command of his uncle. Sir Bevil Grenville.
The descendants of Drake and Frobisher succeeded
in capturing only ' cellars of sweet wines, where many
hundreds of them being surprised and found dead
drunk, the Spaniards came and tore off their ears,' ^
while the rich fleet of plate-ships that was to make
King Charles independent of his Parliament slipped
by, in safety, into Lisbon. Escaping mutilation,
George Monck next pursued his fortune to France
and the Low Countries, for many years the school
for the real soldiers of Europe, and with many of the
future generals of the English Civil War fought under
Frederick Henry, Prince of Nassau. The year 1638
found him fighting still, now with the English flag
against the Scots, and in Ireland. Under the patron-
age of his relative, Lord Leicester,^ he rose in rank
and in reputation. A strict disciplinarian, he was
yet the most popular of commanders. The im-
petuosity of his encounter with the sheriff was gone
for ever. He was known as a silent, observant man,
biding his time, watchful of events, making no
promises to any man.
With the breaking out of the Civil War, Lord
Ormonde,^ doubtful of his loyalty to the King's party,
1 Howell, Epistolae Ho-Elianae, vol. i. sec. 4, p. 169.
* Robert Sidney, Earl of Leicester, 1595-1677. Connected with the
Moncks through Elizabeth, wife of A. Plantagenet. Her first husband
was Edmund Dudley.
* James Butler, 1610-1688, afterwards the first Duke of Ormonde.
B
6 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
sent Monck as a prisoner to Bristol. His jailer
proved to be one of the numerous kinsmen with whom
the Moncks were so richly endowed, and an interview
was presently arranged between this stubborn colonel
and his sovereign at Oxford. Charles was so much
impressed with Monck's military capacity that he
appointed him Major-General of the Irish Brigade,
with whom he amply justified the King's impression.
However, his days of command were terminated
abruptly.
At Nantwich, January 25, 1644, General Fairfax
made a capture that pleased him greatly. The
Parliamentarians, as well as the King's men, had had
an eye upon Monck, the successful soldier. Fairfax ^
had hoped to persuade him to abandon the King's
cause, but his arguments were unavaihng, and nothing
remained to be done but to send General Monck to
the Tower and hope that time would teach him
wisdom.
Here he worthily employed some of his days in
writing a treatise on military tactics and discoursing
with the Bishop of Ely, his fellow-prisoner ; and a
strong friendship grew speedily between the two.
But a prisoner has many hours to fill, and Mars
out of employment is a proverbial target. Even the
least imaginative mind can clothe with grace this
common romance. Anne Clarges, daughter of a
farrier in the Strand, was wife of Thomas Radford.
Together the Radfords kept a milliner's shop in the
New Exchange, at the Sign of the Three Spanish
Gypsies,^ where they sold perfumes and wash-balls.
In her capacity of sempstress Anne visited the Tower,
^ Thomas Fairfax, third Baron, 1612-1671.
^ The Case of the Heirs at Law to George Monck, Late Duke of Albemarle.
rrinted and sold by B. Bragg, at the Sign of the Black Raven in
Pater Nostcr Row (1709).
i645] ANNE CLARGES THE SEMPSTRESS 7
and became known to George Monck. From the first
she exercised a strange influence over the strong,
silent man. He who feared no man Hstened to her
opinion with respect, and in later years feared her
tongue not a little. On her side, with strong Royalist
prejudices, she was easily drawn towards the captive
who refused to take the covenant or make his peace
with the conquering Parliamentarians. The semp-
stress never held any claim to beauty. In later life
the adulation of sycophants supplied her with a
splendid pedigree ; but at this time she was only the
daughter of a farrier, wife or widow of a milhner, and
sister of an apothecary. Dr. Clarges. Thomas Radford,
never anything but a name, disappears from the story,
either obligingly or of necessity. The date of his
death was never known, and, in consequence, he caused
untold trouble in later years.
In the Tower was a friendly bishop. Perhaps his
hands blessed the pair ; for on November 8, 1646,
Frances Monck, the General's sister, writing to him
in Scotland from the ancestral Potheridge, says that
their brother Nicholas has written to * your wife ' to
borrow money, and she exhibits so friendly a spirit
towards Anne that among his own family no thought
of irregularity in their union could have been har-
boured.^
When all hope of Royalist success seemed dead
Monck finally consented to join the Parliamentarians,
with the proviso that he should fight in Ireland and
Scotland, and never against his old Cavalier com-
panions. Before leaving the Tower he sought the
Bishop of Ely to receive his blessing, saying : ' Now
go I into Ireland, but I hope one day to do His Majesty
Service against the Rebels here.' ^ So he received
1 Hist. MSS. Com., rjth Report, Buccleuch MSS., p. 308.
* Gumhle, Life 0/ General Monck, Y>- 118.
8 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
episcopal blessing and was dismissed. Anne Clarges
accompanied Monck on some of his campaigns, and
her father also followed the army as farrier.
In 1 65 1, with health impaired by a life of warfare,
Monck returned to London, where he went through a
marriage ceremony with Anne, although she for some
seven years had been privately recognised as his wife.
The registry of St. George's, Southwark, Surrey,
shows the record on January 23, 1655.^ Later In
this year, with that versatlUty with which generals of
the seventeenth century were believed to be endowed,
he commanded the English fleet against the Dutch.
His wife was left behind in London In the care of
her brother. Dr. Thomas Clarges, beset by serious
trouble.
Such was the story of General George Monck and
his wife Anne Clarges, the sempstress, and such were
the events which preceded the birth of their son
Christopher.
* Cokayne, Complete Peerage, edited by Hon. Vicary Gibbs. See
also note under her burial, Chester, Registers of Westminster Abbey;
Salkeld's Reports, i. p. 120 (ed. 1795), Hilary Term, 6 Win. iii., King's
Bench.
CHAPTER II
On August 14, 1653, the gossips along the Strand and
about Charing Cross had sufficient material to keep
their tongues busy. Anne Clarges, the blacksmith's
daughter, had a son born that day whom she called
Christopher and named his father the great Par-
liamentary general, Monck, now temporarily an
admiral and gallantly fighting the Dutch with his
fleet. To those who pointed the finger of scorn and
whispered that no good could come of one who had
been sempstress to Monck, a Royalist prisoner in
the Tower, she returned that the Parish Register of
St. George's, Southwark, showed her marriage lines,
where those who chose might read. To inquiries as
to the whereabouts of Thomas Radford, the husband
with whom she had kept shop at the Sign of the Three
Spanish Gypsies, and sold lavender, perfumes, and
soap balls to all the neighbourhood, the lady replied
that he was dead and, as they all knew, had not
been seen these several years. But why the child
Christopher had been born in an attic over a tailor's
shop instead of the home of her brother, Thomas
Clarges, the apothecary, was a harder riddle to solve.
Anne explained that she had visited the tailor's to
purchase new stays. ^ But the wise ones whispered
that Thomas Clarges, believing not at all in the
Southwark marriage, had turned his sister out of
doors, and the tailor in charity had lent her his garret
^ Evidence, in case of Bath v. Sherwin, was given that stays were not
worn at this time.
10 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
in her necessity.^ So the tongues wagged and the
heads nodded over against St. Clement Danes,
where the old houses with timbered fronts and
gabled roofs still overhung the streets of ancient
London.
Firm in her assertions, Mrs. Monck, as we must
now call her, was unabashed by these clamours. She
produced twelve hundred pounds, a gift from the
absent General, at sight of which Thomas Clarges
renewed his brotherly interest and presently posted
off to the fleet to inform Monck that he was father of
a hopeful son. The General was found in a genial
mood. Van Tromp, long England's bane, had been
shot with a musket ball as he stood on the poop of
his ship * encouraging his men with a drawn sword.' ^
Mrs. Monck was quickly acknowledged, and her
brother removed her and her child, now confirmed in
the family name of Christopher, to Deptford. With
them, as nurse, went Honour Mills, a vender of
apples and oysters. Later they were received by Sir
Peter Killigrew, still another of Monck's cousins,
at his home in Dutchy Lane, near Somerset
House.
The family were united soon after, and the General
with his wife and son departed for Scotland to take
command of the forces there. Some state now sur-
rounded the Parliamentary general. In addition to
his secretary, he had two chaplains : Dr. Gumblc,
suspected of spying on behalf of the Parliament ;
Dr. Price, well known secretly to favour the Stuarts.
Each wrote a life of their patron. Spirited bio-
graphers they both are, and neither neglects to record
* Burnet, History of His Own Time ; Aubrey, The National and
Domestic History of England (London, 1867-70) ; Sir P. Warwick,
Atemoires of the reigne of King Charles I. y with a continuation to the . . .
restauration of King Charles II. (London, 1701).
* Guuible, Life, p. 63.
1656] DALKEITH HOUSE 11
his suspicion of the other. Dr. Gumble thus records
Monck's next move :
* The General himself, who had always an inclina-
tion to a country life, who much delighted in plant-
ing and husbandry, rented Dalkeith, a stately palace
belonging then to the Countess of Buccleuch, about
five miles from Edinburgh ; where he had a very
large and stately park walled about and full of
trees, with two Rivers running through it, with a
curious garden and orchard ; where he lived in the
midst of all the blessings a country retirement could
afford. And took care that all others should enjoy
the same blessings, which he wanted not, relieving
his poor soldiers with good sums upon their necessity,
having also equal charity for all Scottish men that
they should obtain justice and right, so that now no
great man durst oppress his poor neighbours. And
now Gen'l Monck for some years lives very quietly,
making no noise, nor meddling with Cromwell's busi-
ness in England, which will afford little memorable.
At this time he fell into a particular acquaintance
with some of the Nobility and Gentry of Scotland
and . . . there began to be a kind of hearty and
mutual love between them ; ... he praised and
admired no sort of men more for their noble and
generous ways of conversation and with this opinion
he continued to the day of his death.'
Dr. Skinner, a third contemporary biographer, adds
further that
' in the intervals of publick business, he diverted
himself with the pleasures of planting and hus-
bandry, resembling the heroes of Ancient Rome.
About this time as an alloy to his felicity the General
lost his second son George, who In his infancy died of
a fever attended with convulsion fits, and was burled
In the chapel at Dalkeith House. The death of this
child affected the General with such unusual and deep
a sorrow as was greatly admired by those who knew
not, that in the highest courage there is a mixture
of the greatest tenderness.'
12 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
Dr. Gumble records :
* Never father took the loss of a child with more tears
and grief, which would seem incredible, that a man of
so great a heart should yield to such sorrows, but it
was certainly an evidence of a great sweetness of
temper and of a tender affection.'
The General's desire for wealth, which alone is
cited against him as a fault, had begun to manifest
itself, and, ably seconded by his wife, he was steadily
adding to his possessions. Upon little Christopher,
now the only son, rested all the parents' hopes for
the future. Even in these early years he showed
that strong resemblance to his father which is so
noticeable in his later portraits, and this served to
intensify the father's attachment to his only child. A
companion and playfellow was desired for him, and
his young cousin Mary, daughter of the Reverend
Nicholas Monck, now came to live at Dalkeith House.
We may imagine these seventeenth-century children,
long-curled and active, playing about those gardens
and stately parks as would children of a later day,
little heeding the Scottish mists or wintry blasts.
In 1658 came a sudden change of public feeling,
which even the children felt. Oliver Cromwell was
dead, and Richard, his feeble son, endeavoured to
rule in his stead. This was little to the mind of the
Scottish army, and many a murmured word must the
child Christopher have overheard. Monck's officers
were moved to say : ' Old George for my money, he
is fitter for a Protector than Dick Cromwell.' ^ Did
not the child straighten his little back and walk more
proudly, dreaming a baby's dreams of honours yet
to come ? His father was a great man now ; all the
armies of Scotland obeyed him. Then, too, Mrs.
Monck, for ever warned to be discreet, might safely
> Gumble, Life, p. 94.
1658] ROYALIST PLOTS 13
murmur in her little son's ear some of her own am-
bitions. Strangely enough, these were not of a kind
to seat her husband in the coronation chair.
Nicholas Monck, the clergyman brother, ever loyal
to the house of Stuart, had cast his fortunes with his
cousins, the Grenvilles. Sir John, son of old Sir Bevil
Grenville, had attached himself to the English Court
in Paris, and was in constant communication with
Royalist sympathisers in England. Sir John Gren-
ville was permitted to return to his ancestral estates
in Devon, although these were at present held by
a Parliamentarian.^ Here he lived in quiet, and
Nicholas Monck, brother of the great General, became
his neighbour. These two gentlemen soon laid their
heads together, and much planning ensued concern-
ing the darling project in the heart of each : the
restoration of the Stuarts, in the person of Charles 11.,
now a wanderer on the Continent. George Monck
was their great hope, but up to this time he had
refused to see any emissary or to hear any plans even
from his wife. It was very necessary to divert
suspicion from the ever watchful eyes of Parliament.
Richard Cromwell was proving unequal to the task
of government. Men's eyes looked about for another
ruler. ' Why not Old George ? ' said the army in
Scotland ; and they felt that, like the legions of ancient
Rome, they were in a position to carry out their own
suggestion.
But Mrs. Monck was a power to be reckoned with
and the one person the General feared. Her sym-
pathies had always been with the Royalist cause.
Her favourite chaplain, Price, quoted to her a principle
of the Marquis of Argyll, ' that it was the character
of a wise man not to let the world know of what
religion he was.' But the General's lady found him
' Skinner, Life of General Monck, pp. 91-100.
14 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
one, for now she declared : * Mr. Monck is a Pres-
byterian, and my son Kit is for the Long Parhament
and the good old cause.' ^ Such sentiments, we may
well believe, were carefully kept from the Chaplain
Gumble, whom Mrs. Monck rightly considered a spy
of the London government. To all these murmurers
the General gave no countenance. Nevertheless,
certain inquiries were made at the instigation of
Parliament, but their inquisitors returned to London
unsatisfied. All this made the path of the con-
spirators in Devon more difficult and thorny. Finally,
they arranged a plan which gave them access to the
General but diverted suspicion from themselves.
Nicholas Monck had two daughters, one of whom,
Mary, as we know, was living at this time with her
uncle George at Dalkeith House, under the motherly
care of Anne, the late sempstress.^ She was about to
be married to one Arthur Fairwell. What could be
more natural than that her father should journey from
Devon to Scotland to escort his daughter home to her
marriage ? Much affectionate discourse passed be-
tween the brothers during this visit, but not a word
could Nicholas give or receive about the King. Even
Mrs. Monck, warned by recent events, turned a deaf
ear to his pleadings. However, the chaplain, Dr.
Price, listened to the Reverend Nicholas, but with
great caution on both sides. Dr. Price conveyed the
news — nothing less than a pressing message from the
exiled Charles — to Mrs. Monck. What she managed
to convey to the General is not reported. He main-
tained his masterly and famous silence and refused, ' in
the hearing of some,' to have deahngs with the exile.
^ Price, Mystery and Method, p. 32.
* The fact that Nicholas Monck allowed his young daughter to live
in the General's household seems to afford additional evidence that the
Monck family considered the marriage of George and Anne to be per-
fectly regular.
GEORGE MONCK, FIRST DUKE OF ALBEMARLE
From the picture hi the National Portrait Gallery
i66o] THE TREASON GOWN 15
Behold now the flutter of feminine petticoats amid
the serious councils of the King's adherents. Dr.
Price reports : ' For her (Mrs. Monck's) custom was,
when the General's and her own work of the day was
ended, to come into the dining-room to him in her
Treason Gown, as I call it, I telling him that when
she had that gown on, he should allow her to say any-
thing. And indeed, her tongue was her own then and
she wouldn't spare it. 'Tis easy to conceive what
her discourses were, when a woman had wit enough,
always influence, and sometimes, as it was thought,
too much upon her husband.'
Meanwhile events were crowding fast in London.
The puppet, Richard Cromwell, was set aside ;
General Lambert was in possession. He tried by
turns, force and flattery with Monck, who held the
key to the situation. Unmoved by these appeals
Monck dropped from his army all those upon whom
he could not absolutely depend, and with this force of
trained and devoted veterans he left Scotland, marched
to Berwick, and set up his camp at Coldstream.
Though a market town, Coldstream provided no
refreshment. General Monck contented himself with
chewing tobacco, while his young officers finally
obtained dinner through the hospitality of a neighbour-
ing lord. Gumble, who accompanied Monck, says :
* The General's palace was a little smoky cottage
that had two great dung-hills at the door, a hall or
entry as dark and narrow as a man could not turn
in it ; the rooms were worse than I can describe. He
ate and lodged in the same. His bed was like a bird's
nest into which he was forced to creep. But yet it
had so much state as to have a canopy of boards over
it : curtains and vallens were things never heard of
in this place and glass windows were as precious as
crystal at Edinburgh ! '
Mrs. Monck and the child Christopher accompanied
i6 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
the army to Berwick, but the austerities of this
winter camp were too great for their endurance.
The General gave immediate orders that his family
should go hence by sea to London. Thus having
cleared his mind of domestic worries he was free to
give his entire attention to political events. By a
series of forced marches through the deepest snow of
his time he brought his men to London, to the sur-
prise and consternation of those in authority there.
Marching through Chancery Lane and down the
Strand, he took up his quarters at WTiitehall Palace and
emptied the town of other troops. Seemingly under
the orders of Parliament, he proceeded to remove the
barriers of the city. By a subtle diplomacy he made it
appear to the citizens that he did this under protest,
and so turned their wrath against the Parliament, and
led them to consider General Monck their friend.
Presently leaving Whitehall he took up his quarters
in the city at the Three Tuns Tavern, near the Guild
Hall. Next he removed to the Bullhead Inn, Cheap-
side. The Glass House in Broad Street, Draper's Hall,
and another large house, all served their turn, and
made him more and more a famihar and powerful
figure with the Royalist citizens. Back to Whitehall,
he now held the city and the country in the hollow of
his hand. Why should he not himself be Lord Pro-
tector ? — and with more reason than ' Old Noll,' for he
was an acknowledged descendant of the Plantagenet
line, even if with the baton sinister. The greater
part of the army under his command were devoted
to his person. 'The rabble burnt Rumps to magnify
General Monck, who was never more magnified by
anything in his life, except it was when Sir Richard
Willis and Colonel Doleman would have made a king
of him. ... I say nothing but what the historians
said before, as descended from a bastard son of
i66o] KINGS' HOUSES 17
Edward iv.' ^ The Royalists plucked up courage in
this crisis of affairs, but were greeted by silence as
profound as before from General George Monck. With
Mrs. Monck and Christopher the General removed
from Whitehall to St. James, to be more remote from the
city and so also the less observed. He took on another
chaplain or secretary, at his brother Nicholas's recom-
mendation, one Mr. William Morris, who was given
a room in a remote part of the Palace of St. James.^
Sir John Grenville, as became an affectionate cousin,
called nightly at the palace together with many others
who worshipped this rising star. But though he tried
to outstay the latest comer and have a private word
as to the * King over the water,' the General always
managed to escape him. Price says :
' The Parliament was now ready to sit down and the
King's return was visible to the wise and discerning ;
provided that the General had not his reserves to give
a stop to it. For he still kept himself in a cloud.
Wherefore, the prying and suspicious, of which sort
were women, found out little devices to sound what
were his intentions, by giving small gifts to his son,
a child then between six and seven years of age, . . .
who innocently told these busy inquirers that his
father and mother, in bed, had talked of the King's
coming home.'
Parliament, alive to their opportunity, appealed to
the General's baser side, and offered him Hampton
Court Palace for a residence.^ This he refused, but
^ Eachard, The History of England, vol. ii. p. 886 (London, 1707-18).
* Skinner, Life, p. 287.
' Bagford Ballads, Iter Boreale, by T. H., a person of quality, vol. iii.
No. 16:
' Quoth Vane and Scott ; we tell you what,
We '11 have our plot and he shall not,
We '11 carry the sway ; let 's vote him a thousand pounds a year,
And Hampton Court for him and his heir.
Quoth George, indeed you 're free ParUament men.
To cut a thong out of another man's skin.'
i8 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
took twenty thousand pounds instead. About this
time he acquired Newhall — whether by purchase or
grant does not appear — and it became his favourite
place of residence.
The RoyaHsts appealed to his duty, and did not
scruple to add offers of titles and riches as rewards
of virtue, but Monck was still unmoved. Finally,
Sir John Grenville, discouraged at the repeated
rebuffs, consulted the new secretary, Mr. William
Morris, who conveyed to the General the news that
a letter from his royal master awaited his eyes. At
last the silence was broken. A meeting was arranged
at a late hour in the room of the secretary. Sir John
Grenville attended the levee as usual, lingered about,
and retired, apparently disheartened, as was his
custom. He then took his way to the remote room
of the obscure secretary and awaited the General.
Up a secret staircase, built for lighter intrigue, came
at last the bluff General, war-worn and old from
fighting and exposure, with firm, closed mouth, silent
as ever. But at the sight of Charles's letter he fell
on his knees and read it with reverence.^ Sir John,
to satisfy his curiosity as to this change of front,
questioned the General, and was informed that George
Monck would always receive the commands of his
Sovereign ; that hitherto he had only been approached
by agents. He promised his aid, and refused all
promises of reward, preferring, he said, to rely upon
the gratitude of his Sovereign when he should once
more be at the head of his kingdom.^
At once there were great stirrings. Off went Sir
John Grenville, Thomas Clarges, and others to
Holland, where Charles Stuart was living privately
to be ready at hand. And before many weeks the
General journeyed down to Canterbury to receive
* Skinnor, Life, p. 296. * See p. 342, note i.
i66o] QUEENS' GARDENS 19
his royal master, and the King had come to his own
again. ^
Little Christopher Monck all this time was living
in royal palaces and playing about the gardens of
Whitehall and of old St. James. Over his little head
went the whisperings of mighty plans affecting the fate
of the kingdom and the fortunes of its subjects.
Being somewhat precocious, he must have heard and
seen many things of which he had better have had
no knowledge. His mother had tried to win the
Parliament ladies with entertainments of a Puritan
simplicity, but without avail. Doubtless these
immaculate dames drew away their skirts from the
neighbourhood of Mrs. Monck, not so long ago Anne
Clarges, the sempstress. All these snubs had con-
tributed their quota to the pressure brought to bear
upon the General to bring back the King.
Mrs. Monck was without false pride herself, for she
shortly made a call upon her old neighbours in the
Strand by St. Clement's Church, taking Christopher
with her, and reminding them of their kindness in her
days of adversity. These old friends she, moreover,
invited to the Cock Pit, a royal abode which she and
the General ever afterwards used as a town house, a
loan from a grateful sovereign.
George Monck, who was now known as His
Excellency the Lord General, proved his wisdom in
accepting no promises from his King, for honours
were heaped upon him daily by the grateful and
recklessly generous Charles. He was created Duke of
Albemarle, Earl of Torrington, Viscount Coldstream,
Baron Monck of Potheridge,^ Beauchamp, and Teyes.
^ See portrait of General Monck in the possession of the Duke of
Newcastle at Clumber House, showing the reception of the King at
Canterbury as a background.
^ He had succeeded to the ancestral estate on the death of his elder
brother.
20 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
He was Gentleman of the Bedchamber, Knight of
the Garter, Master of the Horse, Lord General of
the Army, and Admiral of the Navy.
General Monck's associates had not fared as well.
Sir John Grenville was created Earl of Bath and
appointed to be Groom of the Stole. A knighthood
was conferred upon the late apothecary, Dr. Clarges.
Dr. Nicholas Monck received his reward in ecclesi-
astic preferment — the See of Hereford was his ; while
Christopher Monck of the Parliament days was now
called Lord Torrington.
CHAPTER III
The story of the Monck family for the next ten years
is almost wholly that of the Lord General, who was
again occupied with the Dutch Wars, where he
appeared with Prince Rupert under the title of
Admiral. In 1665 he showed all his old-time bravery
in facing the plague, together with the Archbishop
of Canterbury and the Earl of Craven, when all the
Court fled with the King from the stricken capital.
The next year his conduct during the great London fire
drew forth praise even from the reluctant Mr. Pepys.
The Duchess, too, played her part at Court, where
she was more successful with the Royalist ladies
than she had been with the wives of the Parlia-
mentarians.^
In these public events small Christopher remained
unnoticed, but an account-book for the year 1667
gives some insight into the pursuits of a thirteen-year-
old boy of the period.^ For the sterner matters of
life Christopher's father gave orders and paid the
bills. Dr. Price informs us that Lord Torrington's
education was partly under his charge. The
humanities and theology would be properly under
his care. Perhaps, also, the Cavalier chaplain de-
serves credit for that excellence in letter-writing,
^ Pepys' disparaging allusions to her should be read with caution.
Pepys was partisan, and his jealousy for the reputation of his patron,
Lord Sandwich, caused him to undervalue the Duke of Albemarle.
2 Manuscripts belonging to Colonel Charles Waring Darwin of
Elston Hall : An account-book kept by Captain George Lascelles on
behalf of George Monck, Duke of Albemarle.
i^ 21
22 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
not alone composition, but spelling and penmanship,
for which Christopher was remarkable. The account-
book records that the sum of two pounds ten shillings
a month was duly paid to one Mr. Gunton for ' teach-
ing my Lord Torrington ye mathemathicks.' In the
pursuit of this science he was furnished with instru-
ments costing one pound nine shillings and sixpence,
books of varying value, and a surveying instrument
at four pounds five shillings ; ' fower scales ' cost four
shillings, and his pencils one shilling more. When
the boy was bid to a ' crisning ' (christening) it was
by order of my Lord Duke that one pound was fur-
nished him for his expenses.
To secure for her son the necessary training for
a young gentleman of wealth and fortune was the
care of the Duchess. By her orders * my Lord
Torrington 's Dancinge Master ' was paid the munifi-
cent sum of ten pounds. She also summoned the
barber for * trimging ' (trimming) the young lord.
Eight shillings was his fee. That Christopher was
an active youth, forever running about, may be read
between the lines, for the Duchess is called upon no
less than three times between August and November
to supply new ' shoes and stockins ' at four shiUings
and sixpence for ' my Lord's Footboy.' His hat,
at six shillings, wore better. Only the incidental
expenses of Lord Torrington's own wardrobe are
recorded, and these are all under orders from the
Duchess. He and ' John Neuve ' ^ had silk stockings
purchased for them at a charge of eighteen shillings
and sixpence, while his cotton stocldngs cost four
shillings a pair. Gloves and ' ribin ' for Christopher
came to one pound and sixpence. Of * ribin ' he was
extravagant, for two months later one pound sixteen
^ Possibly a relative of John Le Neve of St. Giles-in-thc-Fields, Esq.,
married to Frances Monck, the General's sister.
ANNE CLARGES, DUCHESS OF ALBEMARLE
From an old engraving
i666] A YOUTHFUL LEGISLATOR 23
is spent for that necessity. Trimming for a ' shurte '
(shirt) costs three pounds. The Duchess luxuriates
in lace. She and her son have charged against them
in the same month eight pounds for this embellish-
ment, while Christopher's * pointe bande ' (point-lace
collar) cost five pounds, and another item of lace one
pound twelve shillings. Even at this early age he
carried a sword, for Mr. Ringrose charges nineteen
shillings for mending it, and Mr. Best's bill for a
girdle is one pound four shillings.
Christopher was, from a modern point of view,
barely out of the nursery, but in the Dutch War of
1666 he held a commission to be captain in a regiment.
This was the first step in his military career — a voca-
tion which he strove to pursue throughout his life,
and which proved ever an ignis fatuus to his hopes.
Little boys of the Restoration grew fast and
blossomed early. In January of the next year he was
returned to Parliament for the ancestral county of
Devon. A thirteen-year-old legislator seems, in any
age, an incongruity, so that the Lord Chancellor
Clarendon, tottering to his fall, must have beheld with
astonishment the youthful Lord Torrington entering
into debates of the House of Commons concerning
the great minister's impeachment and speaking with
the solemn assurance of a conceited boy. * Here was
Monck's son Torrington and Monck's cousin Morris
in the list of prosecutors of Clarendon, whose worst
name for Monck was that of "The good Lord
General." ' 1
The young legislator was embarrassed by lack of
money. George Monck and his wife had Puritan
notions of simplicity, and strove to keep their growing
boy within their power by curtailing his funds. His
^ Oldmixon, The History of England during the Reigns of the Royal
House of Stuart, p. 534.
24 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
weekly allowance was ten shillings. After his four-
teenth birthday this was doubled. All unknown to
them, Sir Thomas Clarges supplied the boy with
money and encouraged luxurious habits. The Duke
and Duchess quite naturally had helped to the ad-
vancement of Sir Thomas Clarges, and the King was
only too willing to accede to their requests. The
apothecary, greatly inflated by his sudden rise in
the world, grew ungrateful and insolent, and ' made
both Duke George and his Duchess fall out with
him.' ^ So great was the quarrel that Sir Thomas
was forbidden the house. His greatest cause of
offence lay in his taking to himself too great a measure
of credit for the restoration of the King. So great
was the anger of the Duke at this assertion that he
added a caning to his prohibition of visits. After
this Sir Thomas redoubled his efforts to keep up his
interest and power with the Duke's heir. But the
Duke and Duchess were still unaware of this intrigue,
although they cut off brother Thomas from their
wills and their interest. The Duke grew more
violent in temper as the years drew on. According
to Pepys, he threatened to kill Sir W. Coventry ' after
his showing his letter in the House' (of Commons);
and the same gossip records how the mystery sur-
rounding the Monck marriage had come to life in
new scandals whispered about among his enemies. ^
' A certain lady , . . being certainly informed that
some of the D of A's family did say that the E of T
was a bastard, did think herself concerned to tell the
Duke of Albemarle of it, and did first tell the Duchess,
and was going to tell the old man, when the Duchess
pulled her back by the sleeve, and hindered her,
swearing to her that if he should hear it, he would
» Welbeck MSS., Deposition of Frances, Duchess of Newcastle.
* Pepys' Diary (Wheatley's edition), November 17, 1667.
i668] THE GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY 25
certainly kill the servant that should be found to
have said it, and therefore prayed her to hold her
peace.'
The Duke was growing old. One last spark of his
old spirit sent him to Chatham to drive the Dutch
from the Thames. The illness from which he had
formerly suffered returned with renewed violence.
Late in the year 1668 his old distemper came upon
him. He then retired to his house at Newhall, where
he thought that good air and diet would restore him.
But he grew so ill that he could not lie down or leave
his room. * In the times of the General's extremity
in sickness, my Lord Canterbury, His Grace, came
down to Newhall and visited him with great kindness
and did give him much good advice and afterwards
sent him several sheets written full of Godly and
Spiritual counsels to prepare him for his death and
dissolution, with many meditations proper to such
sad occasions, which he thoughtfully accepted.' How-
ever, a temporary remedy was found for these ail-
ments, and the General was not yet ready to make
use of my Lord of Canterbury's ghostly counsels.^
In June 1669 arrived in England the young Grand
Duke of Tuscany, Cosmo d'Medici iii. He was
making the grand tour, as did all fashionable young
men of those days. His secretary, Magalotti, came
with him to take down his master's impressions and
describe his entertainments.^
The young Grand Duke, having been royally feted
by the Court in London, proceeded to visit the great
houses of the kingdom. The first of these visits was
paid to Newhall, at the invitation of the Duke of
Albemarle and his son. Lord Torrington.
^ Gumble, Life, p. 453.
^ Magalotti, Travels of Cosmo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, through
England, translated from the Italian MSS. (London, 1821), pp. 466-71
(1669).
26 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
The Prince describes the Duke of Albemarle as
being of middle size, of a stout and square make up ;
of a complexion partly sanguine and partly phleg-
matic, ' as indeed is generally the case with the
English. His face is fair but somewhat wrinkled
from age, he being upwards of sixty years old. His
hair is gray and his features not particularly fine or
noble.' Still further details of the Monck family
come to us from this Italian gossip.
* Monck is married to a lady of low origin, she having
been formerly employed in a mercer's shop in the Ex-
change, London . Falling in love with her, he overlooked
every other advantageous connection that might have
been more suitable to his rank, and made her his wife.
Her former station shows itself in her manners and
dress, being in no way remarkable for elegance or
gentility. Her son, however, which she has born to
the General, makes up for his mother's deficiency.'
The visit of the Grand Duke could hardly have
failed to awaken in Lord Torrington a desire to see
something more of the world. Yet he never took the
grand tour. It was the only pursuit of a gentleman
of fashion which he neglected, influenced doubtless
by the reluctance of his parents to part with him at a
moment when his father's health was in so precarious
a state. The omission was unfortunate, and the lack
of such an experience is perhaps accountable for a
kind of splendid provincialism which marked moments
of his later years. However, the thought of a con-
tinental tour must have soon been forgotten in plans,
even more nearly affecting his future, which now filled
the minds of both parents.
If the General had contracted a lowly marriage for
himself he was determined that his son should not
follow his example. In those days of his occupancy
of Dalkeith House, when he had so much enjoyed the
1669] LADY ELIZABETH CAVENDISH 27
conversation of the Scottish nobiHty, he had formed
a friendship with Margaret, Countess of Buccleuch.
This lady was now the wife of Lord Wemyss. The
Duchess of Albemarle had conducted some corre-
spondence with her, and, bethinking themselves of
her daughter, the Lady Anne Scott, ■■• now some
eighteen years old, and Countess of Buccleuch in her
own right, the Moncks beheld in her a suitable wife
for their idolised son. True she was three years his
senior, but she was a great heiress, and they had long
determined that Christopher should marry only into
the ranks of the old nobility. But Lady Wemyss
was as ambitious as were the Moncks themselves,
and after taking note of all possible suitors for her
daughter's hand she refused Christopher, and fixed
her final choice upon James, Duke of Monmouth.^
So the Moncks were forced to look elsewhere for
that daughter of ' some honourable and loyal
family that might both counsel and support their
son.' ^
At this moment the General took counsel with his
old friend, William Pierrepont,* ' the wise William '
who was also beloved of Oliver Cromwell. This
gentleman, while throwing in his fortune with the
Parliamentarians, had exercised his wisdom in marry-
ing his daughter Frances to Lord Ogle, son of that
loyal Duke of Newcastle ^ who had made such great
sacrifices in the cause of Charles i. The Newcastle
estates were broad, and the eldest daughter of the
Duke's heir might expect a generous dowry. The
two old friends determined to make a match between
the son of one and the granddaughter of the other.
^ Graham, A Group of Scottish Women, p. 115.
2 Son of Charles 11. and Lucy Waters.
3 Gumble, Life, p. 456. * Welbeck MSS.
* Wilham Cavendish, first Duke of Newcastle, 1595-1676 ; see
Inquisitiones post Mortem, Welbeck MSS.
28 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
Elizabeth Cavendish, ' my pretty Betty,' ^ as her wise
grandfather called her in his letters, was born on
February 22, 1654, and was now but fifteen years
of age. The prospective bridegroom was just past
sixteen. The Duke of Newcastle was consulted, and
his famous Duchess, Margaret Lucas. Many dis-
cussions and arrangements were entered into. The
Duke of Albemarle settled a large income on his heir
and made ample provision for the bride. ^ Lord Ogle,
on his side, gave his daughter a dowry of twenty
thousand pounds, secured by the Manor of Grindon.
All this time neither Lady Ogle nor the bride had
seen the bridegroom. On December i the ladies
came up from Welbeck Abbey to London, where the
old Duke lay dying.
' For, as to his own concernments, he had brought
them into a narrow room, having now but one
mortal care upon him, which was the marriage of
his only son, being then about sixteen . . . years
of age — whom he was likely to leave young. So
that His Grace was very desirous to live so long
as to provide a match for him in some ancient
and loyal family, which were the principal qualifica-
tions he aimed at. To that end, some weeks before
his death, he entered into a treaty with the Duke of
Newcastle, with whom he contracted a match for his
son with the Lady Elizabeth, a fair and virtuous lady.
By which alliance he united the ancient house of
Newcastle and Dorchester, Cavendish and Picrrepont
with his own ducal coronet.' ^
The Lady Elizabeth had spent the years of her short
life quietly enough with her ])arents at Glentworth,
with, perhaps, occasional visits to her grandfather's
^ Welbeck MSS., Letters of the Hon. William Pierrepont to Lord
Ogle.
* Marriage settlement at Welbeck ; one of George Monck's last
signatures.
* Skinner, Life, p. 411.
1669] THE WEDDING DAY 29
seats, Welbeck Abbey, Bolsover and Nottingham
Castles, and to her old Puritan grandfather at
Thoresby. Her face, in her portrait,^ shows us a
curious haunting kind of beauty — sleepy, slanting eyes
and a tiny mouth, the whole surrounded with pretty
chestnut curls. This inexperienced child was brought,
without volition of her own, into the presence of the
old dying General. If she had ever dreamed of bridal
gaieties she was doomed to disappointment. For
on December 30, 1669, the marriage was solemnised
in haste in the Duke's chamber, ' where with that
little strength he had, he delivered the bride from
his own hand into the arms of his son. When the
ceremony was ended, he seem'd very much pleased
that he had lived to see the accomplishment of it,
being the last of his human cares.' ^
In all the descriptions which have come to us of
this scene, all the attention is centred on this old
dying Duke. Not a word of the bride, not a thought
for the bridegroom. The bride's mother was there,
she tells us,^ but no one else has recorded her presence.
As for the Duchess of Albemarle, she too lay dying in
a neighbouring chamber.
As all of Christopher's days were overshadowed
by the greater glory of his father, as all his actions
were dimmed by his father's exploits, so his wedding
day was clouded by his father's death.
Dr. Skinner continues :
' And now the extreme difficulty of breathing
which had all along been the most uneasy part of
his sickness, increased so violently upon him that
he could not lie down in his bed but entertained
himself only with some short sleeps in his chair, in
which posture he died, four days after the marriage
of his son, January 3, it being about nine in the
1 By Sir Peter Lely at Welbeck Abbey. ^ Skinner, Life, p. 412.
3 Welbeck MSS.
30 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
morning. And, as he lived in silence, so he died
without noise ; one easy and single groan did the
work of death upon the stoutest and most vaHant
hero of the age he lived in.'
He left behind him a reputation for extreme loyalty,
never regarding any concerns but the King's pleasure.
' For it was his resolution to bind up all his interests
in the King's commands, which he so absolutely
obeyed that no temptation could lower him to a
neutrality, or any indifferency, and he taught his
son to sing after the same tune, which was a service
many omitted that were much obliged.' ^
The sad news being conveyed to King Charles
together with the insignia of the Order of the Garter,
His Majesty paused for a moment in his pleasures and
gave voice to a real expression of appreciation for this
man who had done so much for him. At the earnest
wish of John, Earl of Bath, to whom the vacancy had
been promised, the King immediately commanded the
Garter to be carried back to Christopher, the new
Duke of Albemarle, together with an intimation that
he should forthwith succeed to his father's place of
Gentleman of the Bedchamber and should be Lord-
Lieutenant of Devon. ' And, as a last act of His
Majesty's gratitude to the deceased. His Majesty
would himself take care of the funeral.' ^ This great
honour proved of doubtful value. The General's
body was in truth conveyed to Somerset House, where
it lay in state, guarded by his old soldiers, but could
not be viewed by the sorrowing multitude because
the King had neglected to provide sufficient black
velvet to hang the walls of the state rooms. ^ In
fact, the poor body lay neglected for weeks and
months, forgotten by the King and Court alike, and
' Gumblc, Life, p. 451. * Gazette, January G, 1GG9, 1G70.
* Hist. MSS. Com., /4th Report, Kcnyon MSS., p. 84.
1670] JEWELS OF THE DUCHESS ANNE 31
it was only after much pressure had been brought to
bear at Court that time could be found for the great
state funeral the King had promised. While awaiting
that day other sorrows were coming thick and fast
upon Christopher and his little bride.
The Duchess Anne had long been failing in health,
and the loss of her husband seemed to hasten the end.
So said her friends. But her enemies, and of these
she and the Duke had not a few, whispered that
* old Anne's first husband, Radford, had been seen
once more about the back stairs of the Cock Pit.'
Nothing of this scandalous story is told by Frances,
Lady Ogle,^ who reports the events of the next two
weeks. * The old Duchess seemed to be much in the
hands of her gentlewomen.' They had her keys and
the custody of her wonderful jewels. Beside her bed
stood a great tortoise-shell cabinet, wherein all the
household knew that the jewels were kept.
Christopher, knowing that his mother's life was
drawing to a close, was not so overcome by the loss
of his father as to forget his mother's jewels, and some
two days after the General's death his mother-in-law
discovered him and his wife evidently in close dis-
cussion over the matter. Lady Ogle was nothing if
not resourceful, and the matter being put in her
hands by the new Duke, she ascended to the bedroom
of the dying Duchess with the avowed intention of
bringing back the keys of the jewel cabinet. She
was unable to make her request to the Duchess, and
only sent a message by a gentlewoman, Mrs. Lassels,
who returned answer that the Duchess would give
them to her son, whom she intended to have them,
and nobody else. Then the Duke tried his hand.
No one knows what took place at the interview, but
* Welbeck MSS., Frances, Lady Ogle, afterwards Duchess of
Newcastle.
32 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
when he returned the keys of the jewel cabinet were
in his hand. About a fortnight later the old Duchess
died. She left no will, but all her possessions were
taken over by her son. Visiting the young Duke and
his wife the next morning, Lady Ogle reports,
' I came to them and found them in their chamber,
beyond a very great room that was divided by mourn-
ing furniture, and found the same tortoise-shell cabinet,
the same I saw in ye Duchess's chamber that had ye
jewels in it. And there they were. And I do believe
I saw them taken out of that cabinet for us to look at
and put in again, . . . the young Duke had the keys
about a fortnight before his mother died, but not the
possession of them, that I know on, till ye morning
after she was dead.'
Thus while the late Duke lay unburied at Somerset
House, awaiting the state funeral promised by the
King, the old Duchess lay dead in her chamber at
the Cock Pit, awaiting the convenience of her son.
In the meantime a Chapter of the Most Noble
Order of the Garter was held at Whitehall, February 4,
1669-70. His Majesty presided. The Duke of York,
the Earl of Oxford, the Duke of Ormonde, the
Earl of Sandwich, the Duke of Richmond, the Earl
of Manchester, and the Duke of Monmouth were
present.
' His Grace, Christopher, Duke of Albemarle, was,
by the general consent and suffrage of the Com-
panions, elected and chosen unto the said Most Noble
Order. Then he, being sent for by Garter, was met
at the door by the Earl of Manchester and the Duke
of Monmouth, who conducted him to the Sovereign
where, kneeling down, the Sovereign put about his
neck the George and Ribbon. After the Duke of
York and Ormonde bu(-kled the Garter about his left
leg, then he kissed His Majesty's hand, saluted the
Companions and withdrew.' * Lastly the Sovereign
1670] THE KING'S FAVOUR 33
I
declares in regard the Feast of St. George had not
been kept these three years past, that the King of
Sweden and the Prince Elector of Saxony had had the
order sent to them the last year and ought to be in-
stalled by their proxies, as also the Duke of Albemarle
now elected ; that therefore, he would keep the Feast
at Windsor upon St. George's Day next ensuing.' ^
These exciting events served to mitigate the grief
of the young Duke, still less than seventeen years of
age, and we find two days later the King is called
upon to decide whether or not the young Duke of
Albemarle is to be permitted * to wear the Garter with
the Glory upon his upper garment' before his instal-
lation. ^ The King, finding that this had been the
habit only in the ' interruption of the Order by the
late unhappy times, and considering it would be but
two months before the Duke would be installed, His
Majesty was unwilling to dispense therewith, which
Garter informed the Duke of, and they made this
entry to the end that others that shall pretend there-
unto hereafter may not expect greater indulgence than
was afforded this Duke, for whom His Majesty hath
extraordinary favour and esteem.'
Further interest was furnished by an order on His
Majesty's great wardrobe of the following supplies
for the installation of the Duke of Albemarle : —
* An embroydered panel upon satten and cloath of
gold according to his colours. A fringe of blew silk
and gold for same.
' 2 yards of fustian for the sacquet of the banner.
* A Crest carved in Gilt.
' A Staff for the Banner.
' 2 yards and a half of Cloath of Gold for the Mantle.
' 2 yards of cloath of Silver to line the Mantle.
' 2 large tassels of blew silk and gold.
1 Bodleian Library, Ashmolean MSS. 1112, fo. 169.
2 Ibid., fo. 172.
34 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
' 2 knopps gilt with gold ; an Helmet of State gilt.
*A sword with a Crosse Hilt gilt.
' A Plate of his Arms and Stile.
* 3 Escocheons of his Arms painted on Paper in
metall and his stile underneath.
* I yard and one half Crimson velvet for a cushion.
I ell of Rich Taffeta to line the same. Silk and
gold tassells and 4 yards of uncut fringe for the
cushion.
* I robe of Blew velvet conteyning 10 yards, having
a Garter of blew velvet (About an escocheon of St.
George's crosse) embroydered with Letters and
Purses of Venice Gold and Pearls, to be set upon
the left shoulder of the said upper robes with long
strings and tassels of blew silk and gold.
'Also a Kirtle or Surcoat of Crimson velvet con-
teyning 10 yards and a hood of the same with a
large Tippett.
* 16 yards of White Taffeta or Ducase Sarsnot to
line the Mantle, Surcoat and Hood.
*A cushion of purple velvet with buttons, Fringe
and Tassells of Silk and Gold.
*A cap of Black Velvet.
' Fine Holland sheets of three breadths to fold the
said Robes in.
'A Trunck to carry them in.'
Out of the Jewel-House
' A great Collar of the Order, of Gold and weigh-
ing 30 ounces with a Rich George to be fastened
thereat.
' Another George, garnished or plain, as His Majesty
pleaseth.
* A Garter of blew velvet with Buckles of Gold and
Lres (letters) of gold, garnished with Pearls or stones,
if His Majesty Please.
* Cases to put the Collar and Garter in.
' A book of Statutes covered with Crimson Velvet
and the Sovereign's Arms painted thereon.'
Meantime the body of the old Duchess of Albe-
marle had been carried to the Star Chamber at
1670] THE STATE FUNERAL 35
Westminster, and her funeral was on the night of
the last day of February in the Abbey, in Henry the
Seventh's Chapel. * And many great Lords of the
Court were at it.' ^
The new Duchess was not without her finery.
This is a description of her mourning gown : * The
goune, a plain black sattin with a peake and a pare
of sad coloured glufs and a twisted roll for her head,
lased with blake satten and one lase with a wealt
abote the hem and a pare of sleeves to it,' which,
it is remarked, ' is the fashion for mourning this
summer.' ' The gentill-man ' who made this remark-
able gown * deed worke to the young Duchis of
Albemarle and tow other Duchis and he is a very
fashionable taylor.' ^
On May 2, at two in the afternoon, the long-
deferred funeral of the late Lord General took place.
The fashionable world had all but forgotten him in the
four months since his death, and his royal master was
obliged to send privately to the great men of his
Court to remind them that it was his pleasure that
they should attend this funeral in proper state.
Sandford has left a wonderful book illustrating the
funeral procession from Somerset House to West-
minster Abbey. These illustrations were used in a
later day as a model for the funeral of Lord Chatham,
and they have always served as an index to the
costumes of the period.
The procession was of regal splendour.^ The seven
banners illustrating the late Duke's titles, the mourn-
ing horses in their trappings, the faithful Coldstream
Guards, led by the Earl of Craven, all were there.*
1 Hist. MSS. Com., 14th Report, Kenyon MSS., p. 84.
2 Hist. MSS. Com., 5th Report, p. 398. » Gazette, No. 465.
* Welbeck MSS., The proceeding to the funeral of George Monck,
late Duke of Albemarle, from Somersett House to Westminster Abbey
on Saturday, April the 30th, 1670.
/
36 THE BOY CHRISTOPHER [book i.
His servants and his friends, his ' Doctors of Phisicke,
and the Chaplaynes to the defunct,' as well. The
forty officers who had kept watch all those months at
Somerset House, the Clerks of the Council, the Clerks
of the Parliament, the Masters of Chancery, and
Knights of the Bath ; Dukes, Earls, and Barons, with
their great trains of attendants, in their proper order.
Then, lying on his great funeral car, rode the efhgy ^
of * His Grace, the defunct,' clad in his armour, with
his baton in his hand. Six bishops walked before
him, and behind came the chief mourner, Christopher,
supported on the right by the Duke of Ormonde and
on the left by the Duke of Richmond, followed by a
train-bearer. Behind him came the Lord Chamber-
lain, and the Earls of Bridgewater, Peterborough,
Sandwich, Carlisle, Suffolk, Mulgrave, St. Albans,
Bath, and Arlington. Last of all, Bernard Grenville
led the dead Duke's horse, assisted by his own old
grooms, and the cortege ended with the Queen's
troop, commanded by Sir Philip Howard. One man
walked unheeded in this procession of brilliant folk,
Ensign Churchill.^ He alone, of all that gallant
company, proved himself great enough to inherit the
General's mantle.
Dr. Seth Ward, Bishop of Salisbury, preached the
funeral sermon. It was entitled: 'The Christian's
Victory over Death,' and while eulogising the old
Duke he spoke a good word for the new one.
* He was the best father in the world, and God was
pleased to bless him with a son of eminent abilities
of body and mind, fitted for the support of his
honour and the continuance of his name and family.
He lived to see him entered into the service of his
country. As Hanno entered Hannibal against the
Romans, so he entered him in the lo^al anti-fanatical
• The body was conveyed privately, by water, to the abbey.
^ John Churcliill, later the great Duke of Marlborough.
y
1670]
THE BISHOP'S PROPHECY
37
House of Commons. He lived to see him disposed of
in a very honourable marriage, seasoned by himself in
the principles of virtue and religion, honour and deep
loyalty, disposed to follow him in the ways of honour
which himself had traced, and in God's due time to
become a support and ornament of his country.'
D
BOOK II
THE YOUNG DUKE
' Give to your boy, your Cassar,
This rattle of a globe to play withal'
Dryden, All for Love
CHAPTER I
The death of the Lord General marked the passing
of old influences. Some three weeks after the great
state funeral, King Charles, under the influence of his
beautiful sister Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, secretly
signed the Treaty of Dover, by which he became the
ally and pensioner of Louis xiv. The remainder of
his reign, in consequence, was marked by French
influence, intrigue, and gold. The Grand Monarque
thoroughly understood the character of his cousin
of England, and paved the way for the future accord-
ingly. In the train of the Duchess of Orleans came the
beautiful Louise de Keroualle — Madam Carwall, the
English people called her. She at once attracted the
attention of King Charles, as she had been schooled
to do, and for the next fifteen years envoys and states-
men found it to their interest to win this beautiful
lady's ear, if they would have a successful hearing
from the King of England. She, true to her native
France, threw her influence strongly on the side of
the aggrandisement of King Louis. Lovely as she
appears in her portraits, hers was not the style of
beauty to please a savant, for when Evelyn first saw
her he recorded : * I now also saw that famous beauty,
but in my opinion of a childish, simple and baby face,
Mademoiselle Keroualle, lately Maid of Honour to
Madam, and now to be so to the Queen.' ^ As a
consequence of foreign influence new intrigues and
political coalitions already were forming at Whitehall
when the day appointed for the Feast of St. George
1 Evelyn, Diary, November 4, 1670.
42 THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
and the installation of the Knights of the Garter
drew near.
In response to his summons the new Duke of
Albemarle, filled with youthful eagerness, betook
himself, with all the Court, to Windsor Castle.
Prince Rupert, Constable of the Royal Castle, had
made some feeble effort to restore its ancient
splendours ; but it still all too plainly showed the
marks of Parliamentarian spoilers, and the effect of
the state apartments was * exceedingly ragged and
ruinous.' Many were the consultations on precedent
and procedure one Sunday in the King's bedchamber,
for there had not been an installation for five years,
and many matters had been overlooked and for-
gotten. Elias Ashmole, Windsor Herald, relates in
quaint, antique language the story of May 28 and 29,
1670.1
' On a Sunday morning, the 28th of May, the eve
of the feast, all of the Order proceeded to the Chapel
of St. George, where, after the installation of the
Kings of Sweden and Saxony by proxy, the Duke of
Albemarle was called, who was met at the door by
the Earls of Sandwich and Oxford and conducted to
the Sovereign, where the Duke kneeled down and
kissed His Majesty's hand and returned to the lower
end, where, on a velvet cushion, the whole habit of
the Order was placed. And then the two Knights
who introduced him, put on his kirtle or surcoat, girt
his sword about him, and left him there. Then the
Sovereign proceeded into the choir, all having made
their reverence and taken their stalls and places.'
After the Kings of Saxony and Sweden had been
summoned, ' lastly Garter summoned the Earls of
Sandwich and Oxford to descend, who . . . entered
the Chapter House and thence at once they con-
ducted the Duke of Albemarle, invested in his sur-
coat and his sword girt about him and carrying his
' Bodleian Librar}', Ashmolean MSS. 11 12, fo. 184 b.
1670] A KNIGHT OF THE GARTER 43
cap in his hand, and having made the accustomed
reverences, the oath was given him in the seat
below his stall by the register, Garter holding the book.
Then he was conducted into his stall. And Garter
first delivered the two knights the mantle w'^^ they
invested the Duke with. Then Garter delivered them
the hood, wh they layd on his right shoulder. . . and
fastened on his girdle. Then Garter delivered them
the great collar of the Order, w^^ they put about his
neck, fastening it with ribbons on his mantle. Mean-
time the book of statutes was delivered unto him and
then the knights set the Duke down in his stall, em-
braced him, made him their reverence, then descended,
did the like, took their stalls and so the services began.'
'Services being ended, they proceeded (out), two
by two, youngest knight first, ... by the Chapter
House, out by the Cloyster door and so into the
Presence Chamber (of the castle) and the two
proxies delivered the mantles to Garter who sent
them down to the Chapter House and so all retired
until supper was set on the table. Then the Sovereign
and knights, but not their proxies, with the officers
of arms before the knights and officers of the Order
before the Sovereign, proceeded to St. George's Hall.
. . . The youngest knight entered and stood against
his table and so everyone of them, according to their
seniority, advanced and stood against his table, hold-
ing their caps in their hands. Then the Sovereign,
with the officers of the Order before him, passed by
them, ascended to the haut place and having washed,
sat down, grace being said by the prelate. Then the
eldest knight was conducted to his table by two
officers of arms and so everyone of them according
to their seniority, the youngest last. Then water was
brought in to them by gentlemen pensioners and grace
being said by every table by a prebend, they sat down
and put on their caps. At this time there were leaven
messes for nine knights, viz. : His Royal Highness,
The Duke of York ; Prince Rupert ; The Duke of
Ormonde ; The Duke of Buckingham ; The Earl of
Sandwich, without companions and so ate single.
The Earl of Oxford ; The Duke of Monmouth ; The
44 THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
Duke of Richmond and the Duke of Albemarle with
companions. Every table was six feet long and four
feet broad and two feet left between every table for
the knight to enter at the lower end. This for two
reasons. First, not to have their backs to the
Sovereign and because the youngest knight would
take his seat first. Then the Prelate and Chancellor,
with the Register, Garter and Usher, went to supper.
And so did the officers of arms, but did not return
again to the presence before the knights, only the
gentleman usher at the black rod preceded the
Sovereign after supper to the Presence Chamber.' ^
Ashmole was a mine of learning in regard to ancient
usage, and even in this formal report betrays the
suffering with which he beheld the King and other
of the knights wearing their hoods upon the wrong
shoulder. ' The next day being St. George's Day,^
before the proceeding began, the Sovereign directed,
according to ancient practice and a particular order
in the reign of King James, that every knight should
wear his hood on his right shoulder, the pendant
thrown [sic] over thwart to be fastened to his girdle ;
for the day before, (notwithstanding Garter's humble
representations) both the Sovereign, by persuasion of
the Duke of Richmond and some other knights, wore
it on the left shoulder. But the Duke of York wore
it on the right shoulder.' The old herald proceeds
naively to record how it rained, and spoiled the effect
of the procession to the west door. But the capricious
sun being once more in evidence, the return to the
castle was made under a fair sky to the sound of
trumpets and drums.
' The proceeding was as on the day before, only
at the stairs' foot, the sovereign was received under
* Bodleian Library, Ashmolean MSS. 1112, fo. 184 b.
* According to the Church Calendar, St. George's Day should be
April 23.
1670] THE FEAST OF ST. GEORGE 45
a canopy carried by twelve gentlemen of the privy
chamber and that the entry (into St. George's Chapel)
was in at the West door and so up the nave to the
chappel into the choir. But at the Procession, it
having gone down out again at the West door, it
began to rain, so the sovereign revoked the choir, poor
knights and so forth, who were gone out. They pro-
ceeded up the south aisle, so round about the choir
down the north aisle, down to the west door and so
up the nave into the choir.' The ceremonial being
over, ' the sovereign directed, it being fair weather,
that the proceeding should be out of the West door,
where the trumpets began to sound and so up to the
castle, where, at the stair foot, the drums did beat
and the sovereign ascending, the canopy was carried
no further.'
The dinner of the Feast of St. George was even
more elaborate than that of the day before, and an
important ceremony was performed which, in spite
of Ashmole's careful instructions in the King's bed-
chamber, the Sovereign had overlooked the preceding
day.
* The seating was as on the eve, but between the
first and second courses, the sovereign called for a
great gilt boule of wine and all the people being put
off from the knights' table, he drank to them and they
all stood up, holding their caps in their hands and
presently, after each of them having a glass of wine,
stood up making a reverence to the sovereign, they
all at once pledged him. (This ceremony is to be
practiced every supper and dinner, but was forgot
on the eve.) At the coming of the second course.
Garter cried largess three times, then proclaimed
the sovereign in three languages and Black Rod put
ten pounds in gold in Garter's hat.' (Apparently he
received at this time twenty-eight pounds in largess.)
' Then Garter went before Albemarle and cried his
titles and so forth.' ^
^ The manners of the day were strangely rough and uncouth. In
the quotation above Ashraole mentions the crowding of the spectators
46 THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
Here is a picture of wonderful colour : the blue of
velvet robes against the grey stone of the mediaeval
castle at Windsor, the jewels gleaming in the candle
light ; all the state and poetry of the bygone age of
chivalry. It is an episode, a high moment in an age
little given to pause. It makes a golden entrance
into Christopher Monck's new life.
George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, had been richly
rewarded for his eminent services with immense grants
of Crown lands, and as he was notorious both for
his covetousness and for his parsimony, he left fifteen
thousand pounds a year in income and sixty thousand
pounds in money. If this yielded seven per cent.,
the young Duke of Albemarle was third in the list
of rich subjects in the kingdom ^ ; for the Duke of
Ormonde is reckoned to have had twenty-two thou-
sand pounds a year, and the Duke of Buckingham,
before his extravagance wrecked his fortune, nineteen
thousand six hundred pounds a year. ^ The estates from
which Albemarle's income was derived were situated in
no less than twelve counties. Chief among them was
the royal park of Theobald's, and what remained of
the palace, James i.'s favourite residence. In Essex,
in addition to beautiful Newhall with its park and
forest, was Old Boreham Hall, Steeple Hall, Cuton
Hall, Ridley Hall, and the farms of Bodnorths and
about the tables. Evelyn in his diary records of the feast given at
Whitehall, March 23, 1667, at which he was a spectator, ' when was the
banqueting stuff flung about the room profusely. In truth the crowds
was so great ... I now stayed no longer than this sport began for fear
of disorder.'
^ Macaulay, History of England, vol. i. p. 231 and note.
* In those days the Archbishop of Canterbury received but live
thousand pounds a year. The average income of a temporal peer was
three thousand pounds, of a baronet nine hundred pounds, of a member
of Parliament less than eight hundred. But when we take into account
that the value of a pound in those days was at least five times what it is
to-day, these figures do not appear unduly small.
1670] THE ALBEMARLE ESTATES 47
Shorts. The Manor of Grindon, In Staffordshire, had
come into the family as a part of the dower of Eliza-
beth Cavendish. In Lancashire was held the Honour
of Clltheroe, and the selection of the representative
of this estate for Parliament caused Christopher to
wage bitter quarrels. The Lordships of Furneys
and Hawkeshoase [sic], the Manors of Staldbourne,
Newly, Dalby, and Broughton, were also In Lancashire.
A single manor In Lincolnshire — Norton Disney — Is
among these possessions, and but two are found In
Yorkshire, New Park and the Manor of Sutton-on-
Derwent. In Surrey there were lands In the Parish
of Rodlsse [sic]. The ancestral Devon furnished, In
addition to Potherldge, the Manors of Ranton and
Rewton. In Hertford and Middlesex were held the
Parishes of Cheshunt, Waltham Cross, North Hall,
and Enfield. In Berkshire, Moote Park, near Wind-
sor, afterwards purchased by the King and added
to Windsor Park; MIdgeham Hall and its Tide Mills
and the Manor of Clewer. Flournoy [sic] Park, near
Southampton, ends the list of English lands. In
addition, Christopher and his father held broad
acres in Ireland and vast grants In the Carolinas
and the West Indies.
The new Duke of Albemarle was now seventeen
years old, married, and master of this huge fortune.
The prudent habits of his parents had left him with-
out experience in the use of money and with an inor-
dinate desire for the luxuries he had seen about him
but never enjoyed. The first ten years of Charles 11. 's
reign had developed In his Court a late autumnal
blossom of the Renaissance — a flower rich and allur-
ing but fraught with all the repulsive attributes of a
plant fed by a noisome swamp. The great men of the
Court set an example eagerly followed by the youth-
ful nobleman. To him the Duke of Buckingham, as
48 THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
the King's favourite, was one to envy and emulate.
Rochester, Cornbur}\ and Henry Sidney were brilHant,
dazzHng luminaries. All the gallants of Gramont's
memoirs had daily taken their way before his boyish
eyes, and now suddenly become his own master the
path he chose to tread was wide and steep. James,
Duke of Monmouth, only four years the senior of the
Duke of Albemarle, claimed the leadership in revels
too profligate to relate. He had just been accused,
quite falsely later historians prove, of causing the
death of the beautiful Duchess of Orleans, at the
hands of a jealous husband, and consequently his
social star was greatly in the ascendant. In this group
together with the new Duke of Albemarle were found
the Duke of Somerset and a train of lesser lords.
These young men quickly exhausted the pleasures of
the Court, tired perhaps of the beauties who had so
long reigned supreme. If the King took his pleasure
with an orange girl, they would plunge even lower,
into the very dregs of the slum of Whetstone Park.
Of one escapade in this neighbourhood John Pennecke
writes to his friend John Rogers from London in the
latter part of February i6^ :
' Public money never scarcer and so I think
private also, though the vanities of this place are
as much as ever. Everybody in coach and cloak
endeavouring to surpass one the other and the
actions of both sexes I think never worse. There
was a grand ball to be at Whitehall last night,
but it was suspended, on what score I know not.
Saturday last at night, was killed a beadle, the
constable's assistant, for attempting a house in or
near Whetstone Park, a scandalous place, where was
the Duke of Monmouth, the Duke of Albemarle,
the Duke of Somerset, with others, at a very un-
seasonable time.' ^
^ History MSS. Com., ^th Report, Rogers MSS., p. 405.
1671] THE MURDERED BEADLE 49
Mr. Pennecke, had he known it, himself reported
the cause of the postponement of the great Whitehall
ball. Widespread was the scandal over the killing of
this beadle. Unseasonable is but a mild word to de-
scribe the errand of these three dukes and their friends.
Among the occasional verses of this time is one describ-
ing the event. ^ After relating the story of the night's
revel with great frankness and particularity, the writer
leads up to the dramatic moment when the young men's
evil deeds in Whetstone Park arouse the watch.
* In came the Watch, disturbed with sleep and ale,
By shrill noises, but they could not prevail.
T'appease their Graces straight rose mortal jars
Betwixt the night blackguard and silver stars,
Then fell the Beadle by a ducal hand . . .
The way in blood certain renoun to win
Is first with bloody noses to begin.'
Sobered by the death of the beadle, and pursued
by the infuriated populace, the alarmed youths hurried
back to Whitehall.
' They need not send a messenger before
They 're too well known to stand long at the door.
See what mishaps dare e'en invade Whitehall
This silly fellow's death puts off the ball
And disappoints the queen, . . .
The fiddlers, voices, entrees, all the sport
And the gay show put off where the brisk court
Anticipates in rich subsidy coats,
All that is got by mercenary votes,
Yet shall Whitehall, the innocent, the good,
See these men dance all daubed with lace and blood ? '
The poet then ironically suggests suitable punish-
ment :
' Near t'other Park there stands an aged tree
As fit as if 'twere made o'th'nonce for three,
Where that no ceremony may be lost,
Each Duke for state may have a several post'
^ State Poems before itgj.
50 THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
Great was the consternation in Court circles.
Monmouth was the darling of the Kng, his father,
and Albemarle was the King's particular favourite.
The common people cried out for punishment. All
was confusion and excitement. Finally the King
pardoned the entire party.
Albemarle's hand must have committed the actual
deed, for his pardon bears the earliest date and, to
make assurance doubly sure, protects him from the
consequences of all assaults, woundings, crimes, mis-
demeanours, trespasses, and forfeitures whatsoever
committed by him alone or with any other person
from February 28 to March 14, whether the assaulted
or wounded person shall die or not.^ The Duke of
Monmouth, Robert Constable, Peter Savage, John
Fenwick, and Edward Griffen, Esq., were all pro-
vided with like suitable parchments. The Duke of
Somerset appears not to have been so deeply impli-
cated as the others, for his pardon is not recorded.
Seldom is a black sheep without his spot of white,
and Albemarle had a goodly share of snowy covering.
Yet it is hard to identify the leader of so dissolute a
prank with a high-minded youth attending quietly
to his own affairs and to the needs of his less fortunate
relatives. During these months of lawless pleasure,
for the Whetstone Park adventure is only one of
many hinted at in letters of the day, he was greatly
interested in assisting his cousin, Elizabeth Pride.
This young lady was the granddaughter of Duke
George's deceased elder brother. Her mother had
married during the Commonwealth days a son of
the regicide, Colonel Pride. The political aspect of
events made General Monck of that day view this
proceeding with entire complacency, and his consent
I S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 34, fo. 878 ; vol. 288, fo. 112, March 23,
1671.
1672] ELIZABETH PRIDE 51
was readily given. After the Restoration the Moncks
changed not only their title but their politics, and
Christopher felt even more enthusiastic loyalty for
the Stuarts than did his father. This Elizabeth
Pride was now his heir-at-law, and his first will, as
well as those that followed, was made with the view
to cutting her out from his inheritance, as he had
determined that no child of a regicide should inherit
his money. She had lived with her uncle George
from her eighth year, and after his death with her
cousin Christopher until her sixteenth year. At
this time she was anxious to contract a marriage with
Mr. Wilham Sherwin.^
The young lady's charms seemed not to have been
sufficient to entangle the desired Mr. Sherwin, so
Miss Betty Pride engaged Lord Montagu to write to
her cousin begging a present of five hundred pounds
wherewith to increase her dower, and this is the young
Duke's reply ^ :
' NewHALL, /(j;;. 7///, 1671 (-2).
* My Lord, — Your Lordship's letter of the 6th
instant came to me with an accompt of my cousin
Bettey's intention of marriage and her desire of five
hundred pounds from me to further her preferment ;
but at present your Lordship knows my condition
is such that I have nothing in my own power but the
revenue of my estate, out of which, according to the
port wherein I now live, I can spare nothing from my
ordinary expences ; but something I owe her, which
shall be presently payd, and when I come to age, If I
see she lives discreetly and well, I will make up that
^ This man was famous in the history of English art as having made
the first English mezzotints. He was introduced by the Duke of
Albemarle to Piince Rupert, who had acquired the art abroad, and
learning the process, produced the first picture made by an English-
man under this process. His prints of King Charles ir. and of Eliza-
beth, Duchess of Albemarle, are among the finest examples in the
collection of the British Museum.
2 MSS. of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. (Montagu House.)
52 THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
sum to be 500 pounds ; but as to my consent to her
marriage, it 's an affaire too nice for me to be con-
cern 'd in, and I hope her own prudence, with your
Lordship's good advice, will sufficiently instruct her
to governe herselfe in that matter. The respect I
have to the memory of her father ^ induces me to wish
well to her ; and though her demeanour towards me
has not bin obliging, I cannot resist the motives your
Lordshp uses in her behalfe and I wish she may de-
serve them. The hast(e) of the messenger gives me
not time to enlarge farther than to assure your Lord^
that I am, My Lord, Your Lord's affectionate kins-
man and servant, Albemarle.' ^
Meanwhile the fashionable world to which Albe-
marle belonged was given over to gaiety. The Court
went to Newmarket in October, where was run a great
race between ' Woodcock and Flatfoot belonging to
the King and a Mr. Eliot many thousand being
spectators. A more signal race had not been run for
many years.' Observant Mr. Evelyn further records
that at Newmarket he ' found the jolly blades racing,
dancing, feasting and reveling, more resembling a
luxurious and abandoned rout, than a Christian
Court.' He further tells us of the doings at Lord
Arlington's great house at Euston, where the King is
becoming more and more attached to the beautiful
French maid of honour, and he repeats scandalous
tales, only to declare them false. A week later :
' Came all the great men from Newmarket ... to
make their Court, the whole house filled from one
end to the other with Lords, ladies and gallants ;
there was such a furnished table as I have seldom
seen, nor anything more splendid and free, and so
for fifteen days there were entertained at least two
* The prejudice of the Duke against Pride was purely poHtical.
* This letter confirms Lord Denbigh's opinion : ' Your Grace knowes
very well I made a resolution never to write letters to one who is so
great a judge of them as yourself ' (Montagu House MSS.).
1672] THE DUKE INCOGNITO 53
hundred people, and half as many horses, besides
servants and guards, at infinite expense.
* In the morning we went hunting and hawking,
in the afternoon, till almost morning, to cards and
dice.'
We can hardly realise the unreliable reports and
baseless rumours which passed for news in the seven-
teenth century. All the government officials kept
their own agents in the various centres to report to
them all happenings which came under their own
observation. The ports were especially fruitful of
news. Lord Arlington's agent at Harwich writes
thus to London :
' Our harbour has been filling with ships ever since
a fortnight, by reason of the badness of the weather.
. . . Last night came hither in one of His Grace's,
the Duke of Albemarle's coaches, from New Hall,
some gentlewomen and gentlemen, incognito and
hired a small vessel to pass to Holland and sayled
hence this morning, leaving a small retinue here till
their return.' ^ Another report says that these
mysterious passengers were bound for Hamburg.
Their destination is still a mystery. They flit across
the Channel, whether on a visit to the Prince of
Orange, or a diplomatic journey to the Emperor,
perhaps for a few days' jollity in Louis xiv.'s Court;
then they sail back again, rejoin their retinue, and
return to the obscurity from which they came.
Whether they journeyed on state business or private
intrigue, this news-letter alone is left to stir the
imagination.
Before this year was over the King redeemed
another promise, and Albemarle was created one of
the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to His Majesty.
His patent reads : * To enjoy all fees, privileges,
1 S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 27S, No. 23.
E
54 THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
perquisites, salary and advantage of that place be-
longing in as full and ample a manner as the late
George, Duke of Albemarle, or any Gentleman of the
Bedchamber hath enjoyed and ought to enjoy the
same.' ^ And a year later he received a grant of a
yearly pension of one thousand pounds as Gentleman
of the Bedchamber for and during the term of his
entire life.
The semi-weekly newspaper preserves the memory
of a most unfortunate loss suffered by the Duke during
the summer of 1672. The Gazette of July 18 contains
the following advertisement : ' There was a trunk
on Saturday last cut off from behind the Duke of
Albemarle's coach, wherein was a gold George, 18
shirts, a tennis sute laced, with several fronts and
laced cravats and other linen ; if any can give tidings
of them to Mr. Lymbyry, the Duke's steward, near
Whitehall, they shall have five pounds for their pains
and all charges otherwise defrayed.' ^
In the light of the theory that men of the seven-
teenth century had none too nice standards of personal
cleanliness, we are glad to be confronted with eighteen
shirts in the possession of this courtly dandy. His
pictures show his several fronts and cravats deeply
laced with Venetian point, so that surely this adver-
tisement must have brought results or else Mr.
Lymbyry would have been sent on a hurried errand
to replenish his lord's wardrobe.
During these early years the Duke's letters show
him as a man interested not only in his own affairs,
but attending, with diligence and skill, to the business
interests of his grandfather-in-law, the old Duke of
Newcastle.^ But his pleasures scarcely harmonise
with these more serious moments.
* S.P. Dom., Entry Book, vol. 36, No. 145, January 18, 1672.
* Gazette, No. 748. =» Welbeck MSS.
CHAPTER II
Early In 1673, to assist in the war with Holland,
the King determined to raise eight new regiments.
The first of these was under the command of the
Duke of Albemarle. The remaining regiments were
under the leadership of the Earl of Ogle, the
Marquis of Worcester, and the Earls of Mulgrave,
Peterborough, Carhsle, Adington, and Belasyse. 'It
is supposed,' writes Godolphin, 'they are to supply
ye places of standing forces here who are designed
to make a descent upon Zealand this spring.' ^
Many were the wirepullings for preferment in these
regiments. By this means a chance to distinguish
themselves or to rise in the world was given to
hangers-on of great famihes, and Albemarle's list of
officers shows the result of his industry in looking
after his own and his father's friends.
Sir Joseph Williamson was at this time envoy to
Cologne, and his confidential agents wrote him daily
the gossip of the eight new regiments gathering
on Blackheath. Says one of them : ' The young
gentry strive much to go with the Duke (York) if
he goes, ye certainty of which I heare not, and ye
flower of ye nobility will personally be in action.' ^
This was in doubt, though the colliers were ready
to take the regiments abroad. Great excitement
was aroused by the arrival of ' Messeur Shondberg '
(Schomberg), who, gossip said, was to command the
1 Stowe MSS., 201, fo. 107. Godolphin to Essex.
- S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 336, No. 17. Ball to Williamson.
56
56 THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
troops in the place of the Duke of Buckingham,
to whom the command had been promised.^
Buckingham was unpopular with the people, and it
was hoped that Schomberg, a stranger, * though of
an English mother,* ^ would settle all disputes about
priority. But the Duke of York, unable to take the
oaths made necessary by the Test Act, decided to
remain at home, and in consequence much of the
enthusiasm among the commanders on Blackheath
was quenched. The young lords took their com-
mands very easily, for ' Not a Colonel bydes [bides]
in the field with them but the Earl of Mulgrave, who
appears a very active Colonel.'^ The lack of dis-
cipline among the colonels naturally resulted in
disorder among the men. * A Drummer of the Duke
of Albemarle's regiment . . . being got drunk, and
for it carried to ye horse, the soldiers got together and
declared they saw no reason to example him for
what ye officers had never been free from since their
coming thither, and then took him from them and
rudely treated their officers. Colonel Vane having a
musket pressed to his breast.' * The officers were
mustered, and the riot only stopped when each
captain drew off his own men and quieted them as
best he could. Punishment, dire and swift, was
visited on the offending regiment. They were sent
immediately to sea, and their gay uniform coats taken
from them to give to the new recruits.
At length it was announced that Prince Rupert
was to be the commanding officer, with Schomberg
as Lieutenant-Colonel. Nothing was given to the
Duke of Buckingham, ' though he has been more at
camp than any.' ^ Much jealousy ensued, and the
* S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 336, No. 27. Ball to Williamson.
* Anne Sutton, daughter of ninth Earl of Dudley.
' S.P. Dom., Chas. 11., vol. 336, No. 48.
* Ibid., No. 87. ' Ibid., No. 97.
i673] ABOARD THE SOVEREIGN 57
Duke in a pique refused to serve under Schomberg.
To add to the general dissatisfaction, the weather
had become rainy, and the officers encamped on
Blackheath, unused to such rough Hfe, begged to be
quartered in the villages and towns for better shelter.
Patriotic ardour was obscured by personal animosities.
Prince Rupert alone seemed alive to the necessity
of pursuing the war. He was in the greatest difficulty
to find sailors for his fleet, and hearing that one
company of the Duke of Albemarle's regiment con-
sisted almost entirely of men accustomed to the sea,
he demanded them for his use aboard the ships, and
returned, in their place, some of his own recruits who
had proved to be landsmen.^
Albemarle, remembering his father's equal fame as
general and admiral, accompanied his men, and we
next hear from him on board Prince Rupert's flag-
ship the Sovereign.
Meanwhile rumours of the army's destination came
thick and fast. The latest, that the troops were to
land at Dunkirk to reinforce the French king's army,
drew many a grumble from the people. On July 18,
they at last embarked at Gravesend ; ^ the King, the
Duke of York, Lord Arlington, and many other lords,
going down to the fleet to take a last look at them.
But they sailed only to land near Yarmouth,^ where
Schomberg found the troops and officers in such need
of discipline that he proceeded to drill them daily
for many hours to their great discomfort. The
greater part of the colonels remained with Prince
Rupert and the fleet.
' Prince (Rupert) did believe the Dutch, on the first
appearance of the fleet, would fight them, and there-
fore thought it safest that they (the colliers) should
1 S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 336, No. 75.
* Ibid., No. 137. 3 /i^-^.^ No. 168.
58 THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
continue at Yarmouth till the}^ saw what the enemy
would do.^ And after their landing at Yarmouth it
was very convenient for the sake of the men and to
prevent other distempers, which their being crowded
together on board might have occasioned. And then
they may be shipped again in two hours' time. Our
politicians in the town, in the meantime, make a mock
of this descent, as they called it, and they say they
expect no other will be made.'^ The gossips were right
for once. The only visible result of this parade of
arms was that the city of London lacked coal the next
winter, as all the colliers had been employed to trans-
port the army.
Albemarle did not immediately return to England,
and he may have been with Prince Rupert in the
battle of the Texel. His visit to Charleroi, in Belgium,
may possibly have taken place at this time. Several
years later the Due de Havre ^ writes that he, at some
previous date, had the honour of having the Due
d 'Albemarle at his house at Havre after the affair at
Charleroi. Be that as it may, he lost much enter-
tainment by his devotion to duty. The court paid
very little attention to either the Dutch or the French,
and gave themselves up to gaieties of all kinds. The
letters of the day picture the life of the times in many
references such as this :
' On Tuesday night, the King, Duke, and all the
young lords and ladies went up to Barn-Elmes and
there intended to have spent the evening in a ball
and supper amongst those shades. Ye trees to have
been enlightened with torches. But the report of it
brought such a train of spectators that they were
faine to go dance in a barne and sup upon the water.
Ye treat was at ye cost of Mademoiselle Carwole ' *
» S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 336, No 48. ^ Ibid.
' Montagu House MSS. * S.P. Dom., Chas. 11., vol. 336, No. 167.
i673] DIVERSIONS OF THE COURT 59
(Keroualle). This party was evidently a great
success, for its hostess the next day was created by
the King, Duchess of Portsmouth, and rumour later
said he planned to buy Clarendon House for her
habitation.
The Duke of Monmouth, Albemarle's old com-
panion in midnight adventures, had been winning
golden opinions in the French Wars. During the ex-
citement and discussion over the commanding of the
English troops, he arrived in England, travelling in
great state : * The people doing nothing but confer
honours upon him.' ^ On coming to Whitehall he
entered with zest into the social joys of this summer.
* On Thursday last, His Grace, the Duke of
Monmouth, invited his Majestic to a very noble
entertainment at My Lord Robert's [sic] at Chelsey,
where all gallants were pleased to be present. Ye
entertainment was intended to have been on the
Bowling Green, which was enlightened by lamps in
an extraordinary manner. But it being too cold for
ye ladyes, His Majesty supt within ye house, so that
all preparations was to little purpose.' ^ Again :
* The king and whole court continue very merry
and jocund. This night My Lord Arlington treats
them most nobly at supper, whither they are now all
gone to Goring House.' ^
Much of the gossip of the day is related only to be
stamped as false in the next sentence. But true or
false these letters serve to show the trend of men's
minds about the Court, and how important it was
to know which favourite triumphed day by day at
Whitehall and what the world said of it.
The Duchess of Albemarle diverted herself during
her husband's absence with a round of visits. When
1 S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 336, No. 167.
» Ibid., No. 236. 3 Ibid., No. 172.
6o THE YOUNG DUKE [book ii.
Evelyn rode down to Berkeley Castle to dine with his
old friend Lord Berkeley, * it being his wedding
anniversary,' he found there the Duchess of Albemarle
and other company. Together with all her world she
doubtless w^hispered over Ralph Montagu's marriage
to the widow of the Earl of Northumberland, of how
the lady was believed to have hoped to be the Duke
of York's second Duchess, the bridegroom only wait-
ing to further his ambitions with the bride's rich
dowry. Did no vision come to warn her of this
same Ralph Montagu, and the influence he should
have upon her later life ?
If we may judge by the rewards which speedily
became his, Albemarle must have conducted himself
in this Dutch war with fair success. On his return
to Court from the fleet the King presented him with
certain large and valuable tracts of land in Ireland
that had been previously bestowed upon George
Monck during the Commonwealth days. The
Attorney-General in vain suggested to the King that
these towns might well be restored to their own
ancient privileges. Albemarle came speedily into
possession of them.^
^ S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 336, No. 273.
* S.P. Ireland, vol. 334, No. 94.
BOOK III
THE MAN OF FASHION
'Methinks I see the wanton houres flee
And as they passe, turne backe and laugh at me.'
The Duke of Buckingham, Commonplace-book.
CHAPTER I
As Whitehall had its rise and fall of favourites, its
changes of ministers of State, its small bickerings and
great scandals, so the Albemarle household reflected
in miniature the life of the King and his Court. It
also had its rise and fall of ministers and its rival
factions, headed respectively by the Earl of Bath and
Sir Thomas Clarges. Intrigue sprang from fruitful
soil. Pretty cousins aided by their needy husbands
were the Duchess's favourites or her rivals in the
Duke's attentions as their necessities were best
served. Backstairs gossip and wirepullings can be
perceived throughout the family correspondence.
The Duke was greatly charmed with his Duchess,
and gave her twelve hundred pounds a year for her
spending money. ' He ruended (ruined) her by
letting her have her own will,' gossips Mrs. Archer to
Cousin Fairwell.^ Yet ever his errant fancy led him
to the bright ladies of the Court. Then, too, his
affection for his girl cousins was always a thorn in the
Duchess's side, and a far deeper cause of offence to her
than his exploits with the denizens of the Whetstone
Park. To offset the Monck cousins, the Duchess kept
with her from time to time one of her young sisters —
Katherine or Arabella Cavendish. So there grew up
in the household rival parties, and the very servants
ranged themselves in opposite camps, with the Duke
or the Duchess as interest or inclination counselled.
If Whitehall had its sins which it took but small
pains to conceal, so too had Albemarle House. Still
^ Seep. i6o.
63
64 THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
another cause of bitter heartburnings to the Duchess
in these early years comes to Hght, when the Lord
Chief-Justice Treby, in his summing-up of the great
case of Bath versus Montagu/ casually mentions
the Duke of Albemarle's natural son, to whom one
hundred pounds was given by his w^ill of 1687. On
examination of the copies of this will both at Wel-
beck Abbey and Somerset House only one name is
mentioned among the beneficiaries which cannot be
accounted for — Captain Thomas Monck, to whom
one thousand pounds, not one hundred pounds, is left.
If the Lord Chief-Justice was not mistaken in his facts,
the birth of this Thomas Monck must be ascribed
to those first wild days of the Duke's freedom from
parental restraint. Otherwise this Thomas Monck
could not by any stretch of the imagination have held
the rank of captain in 1687. He was bred to the
Navy, and was a Lieutenant on the royal frigate
Crown. On April 15, 1687, the Duke wrote to
the King to remind him that he had promised the
command of either the Falcon or the Drake to
Captain Monck. The appointment not being forth-
coming, he was given command of the Duke's own
yacht on the voyage to Jamaica. The Duchess in
her bereavement at the time of the Duke's death
would not stir without him, and was greatly de-
pendent on his care in her return voyage to England.
He presumably received his one thousand pounds and
forthwith disappeared, perhaps to the Massachusetts
Plantations, whither certain of the Fairwell family
took their way. It is curious to note that one of
those killed in the Boston Massacre of 1774 bore the
name of Christopher Monck.
The Duchess was always opposed to Lord Bath,
perhaps because his increasing air of assurance con-
* 22 Eng. Rep. 963, 3 Chan., Case 54.
1674] A FAMILY SKELETON 65
tinually reminded her of the lack of an heir to the
Albemarle name. Yet he bore witness to his own
friendliness towards her. ' I had,' said he, ' great
honour and regard for the Duchess, who was very
young when first married, and did . . . industriously
study to do good offices and prevent breaches between
her and her noble husband on several occasions.' ^
Truly the path of this peacemaker was hard.
The Duchess undoubtedly was capricious, for she
was not always on friendly terms with the faction
headed by the Clarges family. Perhaps it was in
some moment of pique that she first championed the
cause of still another Thomas Monck, the mysterious
Captain — later Colonel — of that name. This man
stalks like a phantom through the Albemarle story.
His military stride and clanking sword give him the
air of a soldier of fortune. Christopher's first careless
letters asking for favours for this soldier of his own
name attract little attention. But when his last will
makes Colonel Monck heir to the bulk of his fortune,
and when he follows this with a petition to the King
that * His Majesty will be pleased to grant to the said
Thomas Monck and his heirs-male the title of Baron
Monck of Potheridge, so that the name of Monck
in this manner by His Majesty's Grace and good-
ness ever remain together with my estate unto the
Name and posterity of the Moncks in memory of my
most dear father and myself,' interest is aroused and
some inquiry into the nature of his connection with
the Monck family must be made. All the Monck
cousins stoutly denied that this Thomas was even
distantly related to them, but they forgot to account
for his position in the Albemarle household. Lord
Bath alone gives meagre details of his early life.^ He
also denied that he held any kinship to the Moncks.
1 P.R.O. Chancery Proceedings, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9, 1690. ^ Ibid.
66 THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
This Thomas Monck first appears as a miserable
little boy taken up * in charity ' by one of the old
Duke's sisters. At the Restoration he had come up
to London and joined the Duke's household, but in
so lowly a capacity that * he did sometimes eat with
the grooms and inferior servants of the family,' but
' never with the Duke or even with his Stewards or
chief officers.' Soon he became a private soldier in his
* Grace's foot regiment.' As early as 1662, George
Monck wrote from the Cock Pit to Thomas, Earl of
Ossory, asking for an ensign's place for Thomas Monck
in one of his regiments.^ This favour presumably
was granted, for when we next hear of him he is an
ensign or lieutenant in a regiment in Ireland. In
1673, Albemarle wrote to Lord Essex asking that a
* gentleman of his name and somewhat related ' to
him may come to England on ' very earnest business.' ^
A month later, writing to Essex on the same subject,
he calls him my 'cosen Monck,' and the late ensign is
now Captain Monck in Albemarle's regiment of Foot.^
How unworthy he proved of this trust, the King's
order for a court martial on Captain Monck and
Lieutenant Terence Bryne for false musters and other
misdemeanours shows. ^ This misfortune banished
Captain Monck's name from the family correspond-
ence, and perhaps he was dispatched to the wars in the
Low Countries, for in 1682 Albemarle busied himself
among the great ones in Holland on behalf of Thomas
Monck, as the following letter to the Duke from Mon-
sieur Bentinck explains :
'A' LA Have, ce 13 Mars 1682.
* Monsieur, — C'est avec bien de la joye que j'ay
receu I'honneur de la vostre, et je n'en saurois avoir
1 Hist. MSS., sth Report, Cholmondeley MSS., p. 334.
- Brit. Mus., Stowe MSS., 201, fo. 105.
' S.P. Dom., Entry Book, vol. 35, No. 50a.
* S.P. Dom., Chas. 11., vol. 336, No. 250.
i674] COLONEL THOMAS MONCK 67
de plus sensible qu'en rencontrent les occasions de
vous obeir en ce que vous m'ordonneres. Monsieur,
j'ay bien de la joye de ce que Mr. Monck aye reussi
dans sa soUicitation ; je vous prie de me continuer un
peu de part dans vostre Souvenir, puis que je vous
honore et respecte, et que je seray tousjours. Monsieur,
Vostre tres humble et tres obeissant Serviteur,
* W. Bentinck.' 1
The collection of letters in the possession of Lord
Montagu of Beaulieu reveals the fact that the Colonel,
as we must now call him, had been endeavouring to
raise men in Exeter for the English regiments in
Holland, but with small success, owing to * the malice
of the Whigs.' His conduct was still not above re-
proach, for three months later he writes to his superior
officer apologising for having contended with him,
confessing that he was very drunk at the time, and
praying for forgiveness without the matter being
brought to a hearing, which would ruin him.^ He
was, moreover, in debt, and his application to the
Duke for one hundred pounds was refused, and it was
only after great persuasion that he received funds
upon his bond.^
A few years later Colonel Monck died in Holland,
leaving a widow and two sons, Christopher and
Henry,* in great distress. The Duke was in a far
countiy, but he wrote instructing his trustees to
* Montagu MSS. W. Bentinck to Albemarle.
'At the Hague, this 13 May 1682.
' Sir, — It is with much joy that I have received the honour of yours, and I
could not have greater satisfaction than in meeting occasions of obeying
your commands.
' Sir, I am much pleased that Mr. Monck has succeeded in his position ;
I beg you to continue to hold me a little in remembrance, since I honour
and respect you, and shall always be. Sir, Your very humble and very
obedient Servant, W. Bentinck.'
2 Hist. MSS. Com., 15th Report, Montagu of Beauheu MSS., p. 181.
' Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9. Lord Bath's testimony.
* This is not the Henry Monck who inherited the Irish estates.
68 THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
relieve their immediate necessities. His namesake,
Christopher, being brought to London was placed in
the riding school kept by Monsieur Faubert — either
with design to give him the training of a gentleman
and make him his heir, or, as Lord Bath believed, to
prepare him for a page and a soldier's life. For the
Duke's pages were sent to this school to learn riding
and fencing. In the great contest over the Duke's
will this youth fared very ill. He was married at
fourteen, on the strength of his prospects, to a pastry
cook's daughter, and after many misfortunes due to
his taste for drink he perished miserably at an early
age. His younger brother Henry then inherited his
claim to the estates, but he vanished without them
into obscurity.
Who then was this Colonel Thomas Monck, des-
tined by the Duke to inherit his money and name ?
May not conjecture make him the elder brother of
Christopher, Duke of Albemarle, born while the
marriage of George and Anne was of questionable
legahty, and in consequence making him inehgible to
the place of eldest son ? Walpole, in his anecdotes of
painting mentions a picture at Chatsworth represent-
ing General Monck, Anne, and a child. If, as Walpole
asserts, the painter was William Dobson, who died in
1646, this child could not be Christopher, but might
well be Thomas, the name given through many
generations to the eldest sons of the Moncks. He
was possibly left to the care of one of the General's
sisters during the Scottish campaign. The blot on his
birth might explain the obscurity of his life under
the General's roof. It is only in some such way as a
tardy effort for justice that Christopher's will of 1687
can be explained. So only can we account for
Albemarle's tender care throughout his life for this
worthless wanderer.
CHAPTER II
The Duke's family connection was large. Half
of Devon claimed kinship. All the impoverished
daughters of the Monck name found at one time or
another a home beneath his roof. He gave them
much affection, portions when they married, and left
legacies in his wills for them and their children.
Moreover, he promoted the fortunes of their husbands.
William Sherwin, husband of Elizabeth Pride, owed
his introduction to Prince Rupert and the King to
Albemarle, and so indirectly was under obligation to
him for his instruction in the art of mezzotinting.
Arthur Fairwell, husband of Mary, daughter of
Nicholas Monck, Bishop of Hereford, was secretary
to the Duke for many years, and it was not Albe-
marle's lack of effort that prevented him from gaining
a seat in the House of Commons.^ Curwen Rawlinson
of Cork Hall, husband of Elizabeth Monck, held the
office of bowbearer ^ of Bowland on the Duke's
estate in Lancashire.^
Outside of this household circle Albemarle could
claim kinship with many of the great English
families, bringing him powerful ties both political
and social. The Grenville sphere of influence was
like his own, a close and intimate connection with
the King and the Duke of York, built primarily on
services at the Restoration, and continued by reason
of their own deep devotion to the Crown. The large
^ Controversy with University of Cambridge, MSS., Clare College.
2 The bowbearer in old English law was an under officer of a forest
whose duty was to give information of trespass.
* Hist. MSS. Com., i5lh Report, Montagu of Beaulieu MSS., p. i8i.
F
70 THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
Montagu connection was friendly in these early days,
but differences in politics separated them as years
went on. The great Sidney family with its varying
political associations could be claimed as old friends
as well as kinsmen. Dorothy Sidney, ' Saccharissa,'
writes to Henry Sidney in 1680 : * My Lady Lisle
[her sister-in-law] has another boy ; the tw^o grand-
fathers and the Duchess of Albemarle did christen it.
Our brother (Lord Leicester) made her Grace stay
above two hours for him, and she had not many more
to stay in town.' Even more influential were the
family connections of the Duchess. The Cavendishs
were a power in themselves, and strong in the prin-
ciples of the old Royalist families. The Pierreponts
gave allegiance to quite different political prin-
ciples, and when Gertrude Pierrepont married Lord
Halifax, ' the great Trimmer,' she gave the Duchess
of Albemarle a powerful uncle.
When the strength of the Cabal was broken,
Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby, rose to power. He
was a strong adherent of Church and King, and
followed generally the traditions of Clarendon. Two
lines of influence connect him with Albemarle : he
was the neighbour and intimate correspondent of Lord
Ogle ; and Martha Osborne, Danby's eldest daughter,
had married Lord Granville of Lansd own, ^ eldest son
of the Earl of Bath. To Danby's party Albemarle
definitely belonged ; yet he managed to avoid dis-
aster when that minister fell. Lord Shaftesbury had
been George Monck's good friend in the last days of
the Commonwealth, but his espousal of the Duke
of Monmouth's claim to the throne diverted Albe-
marle's path from his.
However, in these early years the Duke and
Duchess of Albemarle were more attracted by the
^ Coinmouly called Lord Lansdown.
i674] THE LADIES' MASQUE 71
social than the political within the Court circle, and
public duties interfered but little with the pursuit of
pleasure. New pastimes were daily devised by time-
servers to keep up their interest at Court. The latest
mode now produced a comedy given at Whitehall,
December 14, 1674, when all the parts were taken by
women. To appreciate the audacity of this inno-
vation, we must realise that it was only after the
Restoration that female parts generally had been
taken by women even upon the public stage, and the
reputation of these actresses was of the worst. So
when the Masque of Calisto or The Chaste Nymph,
by John Crowne, was given at Court, enacted by the
two daughters of the Duke of York, Lady Mary and
Lady Anne, both later Queens of England, Lady
Henrietta Wentworth, afterwards famous for her
connection with the Duke of Monmouth, the Countess
of Sussex, Lady Mary Mordaunt, Mrs. Blagg, who
had been Maid of Honour to the Queen, and Mrs.
Jennings, afterwards Duchess of Marlborough, great
was the scandal. The Duke of Monmouth, Lord
Dunblaine, and Lord Deincourt were among the
dancers. Three professional actresses, Mrs. Davis,
Mrs. Knight, and Mrs. Butler, also acted and sang.
Evelyn, who attended the performance, says :
' Saw a comedy at Court last night acted by ladies
only. . . . My dear friend Mrs. Blagg who, having
the principal part, performed it to admiration. They
were all covered with jewels.' The event was so
successful that it was repeated on December 22, when
* Mrs. Blagg had about 20,000 pounds worth of jewels,
of which she lost one worth 80 pounds, borrowed of
the Countess of Suffolk. The press was so great, that
it is a wonder that she lost no more. The Duke (of
York) made it good.'
Great was the vogue of this new amusement. All
the fashionable world followed suit. Albemarle
72 THE MAN OF FASHION [book iii.
House, never allowing itself to be outdone, gave a
ladies' masque, in which the Duchess herself took a
conspicuous part. The news of this enormity spread
quickly to Welbcck. Who told talcs we may only
surmise. Not the Duchess of Newcastle, for she was
lately dead, else, writer of plays though she was, she
would have deeply disapproved. Elizabeth Pudsey,
one of the women attendants of the Duchess of
Albemarle, seems capable of such gossip.^ Lady
Elizabeth Pierrepont comes also under suspicion.
She was the Duchess's great-aunt, and belonged to a
different age.
We are accustomed to think of the Restoration
of the Stuarts as bringing about a transformation in
the habits of the entire country — as if everywhere,
as at Court, the old standards of virtue had been
forgotten and the whole world given up to feastings
and pleasures. In reality the frivolous Court circle
formed but an incrustation over a people practising
the same virtues that the Anglo-Saxon race has ever
held dear. The Cavendish family at Welbeck fervently
supported the royal prerogative, but adhered just as
fervently to their own ideas of propriety. Lady Ogle
had explained on another occasion that her husband
* had bred all his children in that way that these
liberties others think very reasonable are not thought
so by us,' ^ and she would not permit one of her
daughters to write to her future husband. Lord
Ogle and his wife could hardly believe the stories
they heard of their eldest daughter's amusements.
Lady Ogle wrote in haste a letter of admonition.
The Duchess taking these upbraidings in very ill part,
returned a spirited reply. Lady Ogle again addresses
her daughter thus :
^ See her letter to the second Duke of Newcastle, Welbeck MSS.
* Letter of the Duchess of Newcastle to Lord Thanet, Welbeck MSS.
'^sm'>A . J^^^^K^
"" V '"^
B \
h,i:z.'''Cavcndishe J^
Dciuo'h'cr loll enr- ■Duke 4 i
1 ^^^B^^^^M-^MitftfS^ h.'^'' ''^
J|S
ft 11!
^1
ELIZABETH, DUCHESS OF ALBEMARLE
Fyoin the picture by Lely at Wclbeck Abbey
i675] LADY OGLE PROTESTS 73
' Mar. 24, 167^.
' My DEERE Betty, — I received yours of the nth
and gave your father that you sent inclosed to him.
They have given us very Httle satisfaction. But yett
it has given mee sum, For, I am very glad it was a
woman that acted the man's part with you and that
noe young man came downe to make a prologe and
epeloge. Since you have read my letter, I am sure
you can not bee ignorant, seeme what you will, whoe
it was that tould your father all that I have men-
tioned in my letter. Call it nursery storys with as
much contempt as you will. Nether can your
memory bee soe short as to forgett that I intemate
of the lady you mention. But you have read my
letter so slightly over that you are full of mistakes.
I never said you received any letter from her you call
cosen, nor never hard you did. Nor I never thought
of Mr. Porter nor Mr. Farwell, when I writt to you,
nor never was told a word of them, and that 's all I
shall answer to all you have writt. But that if you
are not of my opinion that those are ill that I thinke
are ill, it shews your great wisdom. You and I may
bee as happy as any, if you will. 'Tis whoely in
your power and will lie att your doore if it bee ever
other ways. Your letter is on of the unkindest, un-
duty fullest letters that ever was writt to a mother in
requytell for her affectionon (and) care and good
councill. I had bin sharpe and you ware very angry
and made too greate hast to write your answer bee-
fore you well understood my letter. But to shew
you I cannot be angry att anything you can doo to
mee soe you bee your owne freind, I doe most hartyly
forgive it all, and am as hartyly freinds with you as
I was beefore your father came downe, and as if
nether my leter nor yours had ever bin writt. Only
I wish you to take care hereaffter for God never blessis
undutyfull children ; we are all well heere. God in
heaven bless you, your Lord and Katy.^ I am your
most intirely affectionate mother. Ogle.'
^ The Duchess's younger sister, Lady Katherine Cavendish, afterward
the Countess of Thanet, who was visiting her sister.
74 THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
* I was very ill in a feavorlsh fitt the night affter I
read your letter and am ill still ; it may bee not soe
much better for you if an end com of my life as may
bee sum would have you beeleave though an ease to
myselfe, I should bee well satisfied if you keept noe
company with any but what your Lord likes and I
beeleave thare can bee noe greater signe of deerenes
with any then keepeing them company.' ^
Such was the anxiety of the father and mother at
Welbeck that Lord Ogle journeyed up to London to
satisfy himself of the state of affairs at Albemarle
House. Elizabeth, as he often says in his letters, was
his favourite child, and she easily persuaded him that
all was going well with her. Peace being restored,
she writes the following letter to her mother :
' Deare Mother, — I give you many thanks for your
letter. I never was soe well satisfied in my life as I
am now at this time, and I am the most bound to
father for his love and kindness that ever was in the
world. Deare mother, you can not emagin how kind
he was to me. You can not blame me for being over-
joyed after haveing soe pleasant a time with my
father. Now I have tould you my mind in this,
I must give you most humble thanks for giving my
sister leve to larn french. I thank God with Great
adoe I have made her read EngUsh as well as I could
wish, but I taught her myselfe. This is all I have to
saye. I humble beg all your blessings. I am your
most affectionate Dutyfull Daughter,
' E. Albemarle.
'Yes of July xbr,.""
It is addressed : ' For the Countess of Ogle at
Wellbeck, leve this with the Post Master of Tuxford,
Notingchamshire. Pd.'
It is sealed with the Cavendish arms.
The letters of the Duke of Albemarle belonging to
this year make no mention of the controversy be-
» Welbeck MSS. » Ihid.
1675] SIR JOHN RERESBY 75
tween his wife and her family. His desire to avoid
any discussion of this subject may account for the
colourless character of his letters to his wife's grand-
father, William, Duke of Newcastle. When writing
to Mark Antony Benoist,^ once tutor to Lord Ogle
and his son, and now in his old age confidential
secretary to the family, he is frank, open, and natural ;
but his letters to the aged Duke of Newcastle are as
devoid of personality as a public document. How-
ever, Albemarle's own increasing importance led the
old friends of his wife's family to pay some court to
him. Sir John Reresby, who knew the great world
and how to address himself thereunto without wast-
ing any ideas, thus delivers his soul of a sheet of polite
letter-writing, and so contrives to keep himself in the
mind of the young man.
* To ye Duke of Albemarle.
* May it please your Grace, — Confidence yt
(has) grown to that hight in this age that it disturbs
ye quiet of Princesses, and of Persons ye most
priviliged wch this preamble will sufficiently convince
yr Grace of ye truth of : which though a light mischief
to yr Grace admonishes me for my presumption, a
coulourable cause sometimes going far to excuse an
ill thing. All I can plead for myself in this matter
is my beliefe that I doe my duty ; with sops to selfe
that seeing yt dog leap upon his master thought him-
self civil in doing the same thing. Many persons my
Ld addresse themselves to ye after a fitt and serious,
I after this rude manner, but not being capable of the
first, I choose rather Your Grace should suffer by thus
offering myself to your Memory, then do it myself by
being silently forgotten that am, My Lor, Yr Gr his
most obedient Sevt., J. R.' ^
1 WelbeckMSS.
'^ Bodleian Library, Ivawlinson D., vol. 204, fo. 16.
CHAPTER III
The gaieties of a reckless Court and the excitement of
a Dutch war might arouse the envy of the Moncks' old
neighbours in the Strand, but life was not entirely
cloudless even to this careless child of fortune.
Albemarle's broad acres in themselves proved some-
thing of a burden. Delinquent tenants and incapable
agents put many a furrow in the brows of his trustees,
for the Duke was not of age, and the House of Lords
had appointed Sir Thomas Clarges and John Grenville,
Earl of Bath, to act in that capacity.^ Albemarle, in
turn quarrelled with one of his guardians on account
of his rapacity, and ran into extravagance under the
gentle rule of the other.
Anne, Duchess of Albemarle, with her last breath
had exclaimed to Lady Ogle that Clarges was the
worst brother in the world, and the most insolent and
ungrateful man, and bade Lady Ogle beware of him
that he might have nothing to do with her son or any
of his business. For if he had, * he would certainly
ruin or be the ruin of him.' But those * conveniences
of money ' in the lean days of his boyhood had done
their work too well. * Duke Christopher was very
kind to him,' and Sir Thomas took upon him the
management of Christopher and all belonging to
him.^
How can we suspect guile in a man who in his
^ Hist. MSS. Com., ^th Report, App. i., House of Lords, p. 147,
* Welbeck MSS., Answers of Frances, Duchess of Newcastle, to in-
terrogation.
76
i675] SIR THOMAS CLARGES 77
letters expresses so much right feeling ? Yet
Frances, Duchess of Newcastle (the Lady Ogle of
the preceding paragraph), further testifies: 'That
all Sir Thomas Clarges's services to the Duke of
Albemarle were to get all he could from him, both
at present and in reversion to that degree that he made
use of his power with the Duke in the management of
his affairs, of which he was the sole disposer, to buy
lands with his money and to buy and settle it on him-
self and his son if the Duke should die without issue.
'Till it was so shamefully manifest that the Duke
was sensible of it and complained to the Hon. Mr.
William Pierrepont, and the Duke had a meeting with
his uncle (Clarges) at his (Wm. Pierrepont's) house,
where they discoursed about three hours to the urging
of the Duke to anger to a great degree, had he not had
great temper (self-control), as Mr. Pierrepont in-
formed his daughter. At last Mr. Pierrepont told
Sir Thomas that he would advise him to deliver all up
to the Duke to dispose of as he pleased. Sir Thomas
answered that he could not do that, it would injure
his son Sir Walter Clarges. Mr. Pierrepont replied.
My Lord Duke may dispose thereof without you —
and that put Sir Thomas terribly out of countenance.'
So here was an end of Sir Thomas's influence, so
carefully tended through so many years. Hence-
forward it was well known among the family that
the Duke quite * forsook both the conversation and
assistance of his uncle to his dying day.' Some
struggle Clarges made to right himself, and wrote in
protest both to his nephew and to Lord Montagu.
This letter to Albemarle contains much worldly
advice.
'■ September the Jth^ 1675.
' My Lord, — The bussiness I would have moved to
your Grace was to make a visitt to My L^ Lieutenant
78 THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
of Ireland (L'^ Essex) to show your resentment of the
kindnes your Grace had received from him in com-
pHance with severall requests made to him on behalf
of Captain Monck and others, and for the favour his
Excelency always shewed to any of yor Grace's
concerns in that Kingdome. The character of his
office is very great, and by shewing respect to such
men your Grace does a right to yourself and an
honour to the King ; but as your Grace has an
interest in that Country, your Grace is more obliged
thereunto then others. Whilst I was less a stranger
to your Grace then I now am, I was as watchfuU of
the methods of civility which were to be perform'd by
your Grace as of your profitt, for honour and estate
are very insignificant without esteeme and respect,
and these are neither gain'd nor preserv'd but by
reciprocall motives.
* I had something else to have sayd to your Grace
concerning the present conditionof your fortune, which
I fear is allmost irrecoverably plung'd into diffi-
culties by the unhappy purchase of Clarendon House.
(Young men never see their unhappiness until they
feel it.) But my letters have bin of late subject to
so much censure, that I shall reserve myself in those
matters till your Grace shall have found by experience
the difference betwixt the natural affection of an uncle,
and others of more remote interest, nor should I
have sayd anything or writt so much at this time If
I could have satisfied my own conscience with seeing
your Grace in a condition of ruine to my poore
aprehension without haveing some resentment of it,
and that your Grace may not hereafter reproach me
with silence in such a circumstance, but I hartely wish
I may be mistaken in my iudgment (judgment) so
yo"^ Grace may not be unfortunate, and I intreate yo""
Grace's excuse for this effect of my affection to your
Grace, whoe can never be other than. My Lord, Yo"^
Grace's most affectionate uncle and Servant,
Thos Clarges.'i
To Lord Montagu he had written some six months
earlier :
* Montagu House MSS.
1675] GOOD COUNSEL 79
'■February the i6t/i, i67f.
* My Lord, — There is one thing I beg of yo'" Lord?
in justice to me, That you will represent to his Grace
when you see him. That since he finds upon examina-
tion, That what was insinuated to him of me was fals
and a mere malicious contriveance to make a difference
betwixt so neere relations. That he will shew some
resentment of it to Mr. Farwell and they that
prompted him to it. For I will be bold to say there be
some in the world that think there is nothing but me
in the way to make themselves masters of his whole
estate and whither {sic) such contrivers will have that
care of his person as nature instructs me to imploy for
him, I rather feare then hope. There are many
temptations wch attend those of his quality, prayse,
flattery, opinion of their own witt and iudgment
(judgment), and the hke, which cunningly insinuated
will not be easily resisted by youth and greatnes,
when truth, as she is naked, will be slighted and
starv'd with hunger and cold. There be two steps
which become a wise man in his choice of friends.
The first to be well inform'd of the faith and integrity
of the person he takes to him as such ; and the next
never to beleive without evident demonstration any
ill of him. There was once a faith like this amongst
mankind, but whither {sic) there be enough such men
to make a corporation I can not tell ; if there were it
might not be unworthy of the name of a Royall
society. I beseech yr Lord?^ pardon for this scribbling,
and am with that duty I aught to be, my Lord, y"^
LordP^ most obedient humble servt.,
'Tho. Clarges.'i
It was now the opportunity of the other trustee,
Lord Bath, to show his abilities on behalf of his young
relative. This nobleman had been but poorly re-
warded for his devotion to the Stuarts in bringing
about the Restoration. True, he had the King's
promise ^ in writing to the effect that if Christopher
left no male heir, the dukedom of Albemarle should
» Montagu House MSS, 2 stuart MSS. See p. 342, note i.
8o THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
be his, together with the lands of Theobald's which in
such a contingency would revert to the Crown. He
also had at least a verbal understanding with both
the first and second Dukes of Albemarle, that the
greater part of their vast estates should go with the
title. Lord Bath may have led his young charge into
extravagance, but his attitude towards him was ever
that of an indulgent father. He testified in later
years that he found the Duke both charming and
lovable. Lord Bath's son, Lord Lansdown, and his
younger brother, Bernard Grenville, grew up in in-
timacy with Albemarle, and speak of him in their
letters with something of the affectionate tolerance
shown to an indulged younger brother. A younger
son, Bevil Grenville, was Christopher's godson.
In 1675 Christopher came of age. Before he could
take his seat in the House of Lords he was obliged by
the Test Act to take the Sacrament according to the
rites of the Church of England. This he did at the
parish Church of Boreham, in Essex, near Newhall.
His summons bears the date of April 12, 1675. He
attended next day, and w^as appointed on the Com-
mittee of Petitions and Privileges, on which he ever
after served. His oath of allegiance was not taken
until April 30.
To this period belongs the purchase of Clarendon
House, so much deplored by Sir Thomas Clarges.
Did the Grenvilles advise it, the Monck cousins
clamour for it, or the Duchess demand it ? Nothing
is reported. Hardly yet of age, the Duke bought
this magnificent mansion for twenty-five thousand
pounds.^
* Hist. MSS. Com., yth Report, part i. John Verney to Sir P. Verney,
August 12, 1675. ' The Duke of Albemarle has bought Clarendon
House for 25,000 Pounds ; payment thus, 3000 pounds last Saturday
was sen'ight, L4000 last Thursday, 6000 pounds in a month, and the
rest in three years. 4000 pounds each with interest.'
1675] ALBEMARLE HOUSE 81
Fashion had, for some years, been deserting the old
ducal palaces in the Strand. The paving of the
streets, however roughly, led to a greater use of horses
and coaches, and slowly but surely the river was los-
ing its prestige as the fashionable highway between
the Court and the City. * Several new palaces,' as
Evelyn calls them, had sprung up in the fields beyond
St. James's Palace, fronting on what was then called
the Great Bath Road, but is now Piccadilly. In the
height of his prosperity, the Earl of Clarendon had
built himself a great house in this quarter. Rumour
said that the material came from that supplied for the
restoration of old St. Paul's Church ; still others
murmured that it was built with the price of the sale
of Dunkirk to the French. Andrew Marvell's verses
serve to keep alive the memory that this mansion
was derisively nicknamed Holland, Dunkirk, or
Tangier House. ^
' Here lie the sacred bones
Of Paul beguiled of his stones :
Here lie golden briberies,
The price of ruined families ;
The cavalier's debenture wall,
Fixed on an eccentric basis :
Here 's Dunkirk Town and Tangier Hall,
The Queen's marriage and all,
The Dutchman's templum pacis.'
In the end the erection of this house contributed
largely to its owner's fall, Evelyn visited it many
times in Clarendon's day, and it could have changed
but little in the passage of ten years. He calls it in
his diary * a goodly pile, but with many defects as
to architecture, yet placed most gracefully.' Having
just returned from one of these visits he writes
1 Wheatley, London Past and Present, vol. iii. p. 88, says, ' The two
Corinthian pilasters, wliich stood one on each side of the Three Kings'
Tavern gateway in Piccadilly (removed in 1864) were thought to be
the only remains of Albemarle House' (Clarendon House).
82 THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
from Sayes Court in a less censorious vein to Claren-
don's son, Lord Cornbury :
'20M of January i66f.
' I went with prejudice and a critical spirit, incident
to those who fancy they know anything in Art ; I
acknowledge that I have never seen a nobler pile.
My old friend and fellow-traveller has perfectly ac-
quitted himself. It is without hyperbole the best
contrived, the most useful, graceful, and magnificent
house in England ; I except not Audley End, which
though larger and full of gaudy barbarous ornaments,
does not gratify judicious spectators. Here is state
and use, solidity and beauty, most symmetrically
combined together. Nothing abroad pleases me
better, nothing at home approaches it.'
A print in the British Museum shows a dignified
structure two stories in height built on the plan of the
letter H. A cupola adorns the centre of the roof, and
dormer windows add to the effect. A broad drive-
way sweeps up to the house from the great gate in
Piccadilly where the print shows a magnificent major-
domo on duty.^ The house stood on the present
site of Stafford Street, between Bond Street and Dover
Street. It was surrounded by extensive gardens
opening toward the palace on the one side and toward
open fields on the other.
The house was ' bravely ' furnished, and as Albe-
marle had few ancestral possessions of furniture, he
possibly took over with it much of its original plenish-
ings. These would not be of a distinctly English or
even French character only. With the acquisition
of Bombay as part of the Queen's dower, the treasures
of the East became accessible to English collectors.
The Jesuit missionaries to Japan and China sent to
Europe wonderful specimens of oriental work. So
that Japanese and Indian curios were now seen in
^ Grace Collection, fo. 110, 114-17.
1675] HOUSE DECORATION 83
the best houses, in rooms adorned with GrinHng
Gibbons' carving. A description of an admirable
house of the period discloses :
* A whole cabinet of elegancies, especially Indian.
In the hall are contrivances of Japanese screens,
instead of wainscot, and there is an excellent pendule
clock inclosed in the curious flower work of Mr.
Gibbon, in the middle of the vestibule. The land-
scapes of the screens represent the manner of living
and country of the Chinese. But above all, his lady's
cabinet is adorned on the fret ceiling and chimney-
place with Mr. Gibbon's best carving. There are also
some of Streater's best paintings and rich curiosities
of gold and silver as growing in the mines.' ^
One of the most gorgeous rooms of the day was the
bedroom of the Duchess of Portsmouth at Whitehall,
whither Evelyn accompanied the King and the Court
gallants :
* What engaged my curiosity was the rich and splen-
did furniture of this woman's apartment, now twice
or thrice pulled down and rebuilt to satisfy her prodi-
gal and expensive pleasures, whilst Her Majesty's
does not exceed some gentle ladies in furniture and
accommodation. Here I saw the new fabric of
French tapestry for design and tenderness of work
and incomparable imitation of the best paintings,
beyond anything I have ever beheld. Some pieces
of Versailles, St. Germaine's, and other palaces of the
French King with huntings, figures, landscapes, and
exotic fowls and all to the life, rarely done. Then
for Japanned cabinets, skreens, pendule clocks, great
vases of wrought plate, tables, stands, chimney furni-
ture, sconces, branches, braseras, all of massy silver
and out of number, besides some of Her Majesty's
best paintings.'
No great house of that day was complete with-
out ceiling and wall-paintings of Antonio Verrio. For
Ralph Montagu's new house in Bloomsbury he had
2 Evelyn, Diary, October 4, 1683.
84 THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
painted Dido's ' Funeral Pyre,* the ' Labours of Her-
cules,' the 'Fight of the Centaurs' for the staircase,
and an apotheosis on the walls and roof of the
great room.
Such fashionable people as the Duke and Duchess
of Albemarle must surely have had as fine wall-paint-
ings as any one in London. And it is gratifying to
find among Verrio's accounts the record of sixty
pounds paid by the Duke of Albemarle for a ceiling,
and as the word * more ' precedes the entry we may
well believe that he was extensively engaged in
embellishing some one of the Duke's houses. Albe-
marle House, as their new acquisition must now
be called, was the object of their greatest interest
for some years to come, and it is fairly safe to claim
it as the scene of Signor Verrio's activities. They
had spent large sums upon their new house and were
very proud of it. More prudent relatives prophesied
speedy ruin from these expensive toys, but the young
people, never heeding, continued their life of gaiety.
Yet with all the fashionable world they kept early hours.
They arose at seven, dined at midday, were seen at the
play at four o'clock, supped and went to bed betimes.
A large retinue of servants ^ was necessary to keep
up proper state in the new house. Among these
should be mentioned first those who dealt with the
collection of the Duke's income : an auditor of the
revenue, in modern term a bookkeeper, and a re-
ceiver of the rents, whose duties are the same in all
ages. The steward of the house was a man of great
importance. He was engaged by the Duke in con-
fidential negotiations, and is spoken of with great
respect in the family business correspondence. Mr.
Lymbyry was the name of this functionary, and he
served both Dukes of Albemarle throughout their lives.
* Welbeck MSS. List of the servauts of the Duke of Albemarle.
1675] HOUSEHOLD SERVANTS 85
His salary in the old Duke's time was seven pounds
ten shillings a quarter,^ and there is no reason to sup-
pose that this sum was increased by the second Duke.
Another important functionary was the ' Gentle-
man of the Bedchamber and Privy Purse in one
person.' This comprehensive title seems to fit the
duties performed by William Chapman. ^ He pro-
bably assumed this office at the time of the Duchess's
marriage, and the connection was only severed by
his death in 1685. His relations with the Duke and
Duchess were also of a confidential nature, but his
accounts show that his devotion to their service left
them greatly in his debt.
Spiritual matters lay under the care of the
* Chaplaine,' an office held first by Dr. Price, who
had performed like service in the old Duke's house-
hold. He was succeeded by Mr. PhiHp Brown, who
was later provided with the chaplaincy of Albemarle's
regiment in the Dutch War.
Of lesser servants in the house the list records : one
groom of the chambers, a gentleman usher to Her
Grace, six footmen, a servant more to a barber, two
pages, a ward robe -keeper to be an upholsterer, clerk
of the kitchen and caterer in one person, master cook,
under cook, one servant in the kitchen, a chief
butler and under butler, a porter. The attendants
of the Duchess were * Two Gentlewomen to Her
Grace,' and the names of various ' ladies ' appear
throughout the years in connection with this office.
Cupid was responsible for many of these changes, and
not a few of them married exceedingly well. The old
family nurse of the Cavendish sisters, Madame Frances
Gregory, was often with her former charge, and
* Account book of Captain George Lascelles ; manuscript in posses-
sion of Colonel Charles Waring Darwin of Elston Hall.
2 Welbeck MSS. Accounts with the Duchess of Albemarle.
G
86 THE MAN OF FASHION [book in.
though she was a bit despotic, her young mistress
was more fortunate when in her hands than when
the two Wright sisters had her under their care. Of
other women servants we note : two chambermaids,
two housemaids, one woman to keep all the linen, one
woman to have charge of the plate, one woman under
her to clean the plate, and four laundrymaids. A
* gentleman of the horse ' was in charge of the stables ;
his staff consisted of a yeoman of the horse, two
coachmen, two postillions, three grooms, and two
helpers. There is no record of the Duke's racing
stables, though the names of some of his horses are
preserved. Although horses were used largely, a
barge was still a necessity, and a crew of watermen
should not pass unnoticed.
While living in London a small staff of servants was
left on duty at Newhall ; these were a housekeeper,
one maid-servant, one wardrobe-keeper for the house.
For the estate there were provided a receiver of the
rents, a bailiff, a gardener, one servant, two carters,
and a decoyman to serve the Duke's ducks.
The officers and agents of the estates preserved a
semi-military character, and their names often appear
in the lists of lieutenants of Albemarle's Essex militia.
So busy were these young people with settling their
new home, and amusing themselves with various
diversions that the Duke, at least, neglected an im-
portant office. His duties as Gentleman of the Bed-
chamber sat but lightly upon him. If others had
not proved more faithful. His Majesty's shirt would
have remained un warmed, the pallet bed beside the
royal couch untenanted. Lord Bath, as Groom
of the Stole, administered fatherly admonitions as
to these neglects. They were of a piece with the
jeremiads of Sir Thomas Clarges, and called forth
the following explanation from the contrite Duke.
i675] THE DUKE'S APOLOGY 87
' My Lord, — . . . I am, as I alwayes have been since
I knew anything, infinitely sensible of your LordP^ good
advice and kindness to me, and I am sorry that at this
time some circumstances in my family do hinder me
from complying with it, especially in a matter wherein
my duty and interest oblige me so much as in my
attendance upon his Majesty in this Sumers progress,
and I confesse it a fault that I have not been more
sedulous at other times in performing of my duty to
him. My wife for her health and many other reasons
is necessitated to go to the waters of Yorkshire this
Sumer and to begine her jurney thither about the
22"^ of this month that she may wait on my Lord of
Newcastle in her going thither, and, in regard it is the
first visit she has made to a Relation so near, I cannot
let her go but in an equipage sutable to her quality,
and to make up that, she must have both my setts of
coach horses with her own and most of my servants
which disables me from [letter torn] especially since
his Mat'^ begines so soon as I hear he does unless I
had had longer time to make my provision for it, but
I will not fail to be at Windsor at his Ma*'^^ returne
and stay there till the end of July, at which time I
have promised to meet my wife at Welbeck to per-
forme my part of the respect to her Grandfather. . . .
If I may be serviceable to your lord'^P on any occasion
none shall with more willingnes doe it then My Lord,
Your most affectionate kinsman and faithfull Ser^*.' ^
These plans for a visit to Welbeck may have had to
be changed to meet the obligations undertaken by
Lord and Lady Ogle. The Duchess of Newcastle, the
* thrice noble Margaret,' ^ died in December 1673.
A draft of a letter written by Lord Ogle and his wife
to the lonely Duke has recently been discovered
among the Welbeck Abbey manuscripts. In it they
petition the aged Duke that they may come and live
with him. They offer to * find themselves ' out of
the plentiful allowance which His Grace makes them
* Montagu House MSS. Draft in Albemarle's hand. ^ Charles Lamb.
88 THE MAN OF FASHION [book hi.
in * wine, sugar, all sorts of groceries, soap and horse-
meat, desiring also that wee may keep Worsop
[Worksop] Man'" in our hands ready furnished as it
is that if my daughter Albemarle, her L*^, or any
other should come with intentions to lodge w'^ y''
Grace, wee may goe thither and entertain them that
they may not trouble y'' Grace, but only come to
see y"" horses.' They further promise that he shall
not be troubled by visits from their acquaintances or
friends * at meales or night time or further than an
afternoon visit,' and they will be in everything * as
obedient and observant of y'^ Grace as if wee were
in y"^ house in the same manner as y"" son was formerly
at 10 years of age.'
If this noble ofifer was accepted, Elizabeth saw little
of her grandfather on her visit to the north. This
same journey of the Duchess calls forth polite com-
ment from her great-aunt, Lady Armyne, in a letter
to Lady Ogle :
' WiMBLTONE, July 28.
* Right Hon^ . . . Madam, I hope my lady
duches, y"^ dauter hath receaved muche good by the
Yorkeshire waters. I hard not wethr her Grace was
yt retorned to yr ladyPP, I hope and praye the Lorde
will give such a blesinge to these meanes as her ladyPP
maye make yo a joyful grandmother of many sones.
To all these earthly honores and comfortes I moste
humbly besiche Almity God to ade a greter and
more desirable, his love, . . . and to put his love and
feare in all yrhartes that yo maye neur departe from
him, that the duste of earthley honores and all
abundance maye not dime yr eyes from loukin
Heunward.'^
Old Lady Armyne's pious wish for many sons to be
born to the Duchess was never realised. One son was
born to them during these early years, but he hardly
survived his first breath.
» Welbeck MSS.
BOOK IV
THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE
'Our hopes, like towering falcons, aim.'
Matthew Prior.
CHAPTER I
The Duke of Albemarle now had reached the age of
twenty-three. Well emerged from boyhood, master
of his great estates, and a fashionable figure in Court
circles, he began to take upon him the duties of his
position. Outwardly as absorbed as ever in the
gaieties of life, he occasionally gives voice to a deeper
note and shows the stirrings of an ambition to be
something better than a Court gallant. Before re-
lating the events of the next seven years, it is fitting
that his qualities of mind and spirit should be esti-
mated and his chief characteristics rehearsed, that
they may serve as a key to his conduct. No general
summary of his life by a contemporary writer has
been discovered. Letters and diaries give but the
most superficial comment. A more exhaustive survey
must be derived from his own letters and private
papers, and from his conduct in crises of political
affairs.
His outward aspect was comely. His face, painted
by Crosse in 1680, shows more strength and directness
of gaze than the earlier picture. The lips are firmly
set, although his chin already shows a tendency to
double. His great wig, of fashionable size, obscures
the outline of his head. His armour gleams in the
light, and is relieved of its austerity by the blue of the
Garter ribbon and the cravat of Venetian lace.^ Dr.
Gumble, who had known him from his first year,
^ Miniature by L. Crosse, painted in 1680, belonging in 1914 to Mr.
E. M. Hodgkins, 158B New Bond Street, London.
91
92 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
credited him with good parts and conditions of mind.*
To these quaUties may be added a nice discrimination
in the choice of agents, which presupposes a certain
keenness in his judgment of men. While he was in
no sense a statesman, he was involved and deeply
interested in public affairs. Yet during the reign of
King Charles ii. he succeeded in so steering his course
that he was never under suspicion of disloyalty.
Whether Papist or Nonconformist, Whig or Tory
were discovered plotting against the existing form of
government, the Duke of Albemarle always received
rewards for fidelity. As his strongest characteristic
was his unswerving loyalty to his King, so his weakest
point was an over-sensitive personal pride. He held
himself high and watched that others should do the
same, seeing slights where none were intended. In
the exhibition of this weakness he was far more
temperate than his contemporary, the Duke of
Somerset.
Albemarle's extravagance called forth the greatest
censure from men of his own day. This was a fault
so general among his fellow-courtiers that it would
have hardly caused remark had it not shown such a
radical departure from the habits of his parents. He
was not without certain practical qualities. In an
age when men of fashion dabbled in chemical experi-
ments, he turned his attention to mechanics and in-
vented certain improvements in the diving bell of
the period.
He delighted in sports, horse racing, greyhound
coursing, hunting, hawking, tennis, and feats of
strength, and he did not shun a bear baiting.
Pleasures of a more intellectual nature attracted him
in a less degree. He was more often a spectator at
a wrestling match than at a play ; yet he is spoken of
^ Gumble, Life, Introduction.
1676] ALBEMARLE'S CHARACTER 93
as the patron of Mr. Haynes, an actor of the King's
House.^
In the personal relations of life he showed a sweet
responsive nature, good temper, generosity, and even
indulgence to those he loved. He was universally kind
to his social inferiors, who returned him a devoted
allegiance. To these he showed a more winning side
of his nature than he did to the generality of his asso-
ciates. In these qualities, as well as in his arrogant be-
haviour toward his equals, he greatly resembled Prince
Rupert — his father's friend, — and it is entirely within
the bounds of possibility that the dashing Cavaher
general, now living a retired life among his crucibles,
had served as a model to the youthful Albemarle.
Such , then , was the man , happy for the moment in the
prospect of a royal visit to Newhall, who in April 1676
set forth with all the Court for Newmarket to attend
the spring races. Mr. Secretary Coventry also accom-
panied the bright company to establish communica-
tion between the officials in London and the King and
his ministers. The times were troubled. The Duke
of York had officially acknowledged his conversion
to the Roman Catholic Church and ceased to attend
the services of the Church of England. This in itself
tended todepress the ministry and the people generally.
Then, too, the country was in difficulties over the settle-
ment of Tangier's affairs. Coventry's letters to his
colleagues show great disquietude of spirit on his part,
and disclose to the reader of a later age how shamefully,
in the seventeenth century, the King and ministers
of State neglected public business. On April 2, 1676,
Coventry thus writes to Williamson from Newmarket :
* . . . The ground is too hard either for hunting,
racing or any other sport but bearly taking the ayer,
' Hist. MSS. Comm., 15th Report, Montagu of Beaulieu MSS., p. 182.
94 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
which His Majesty doth more on foot than on horse-
back. It is early yet to discourse of how long we
shall stay, but I believe most people are of the
opinion we left a very good town when we came
from London.' ^
The weather conditions precluding horse racing, the
secretaries hoped to obtain some definite instructions
from the King about public affairs. All the reports
were sent down to Secretary Coventry, and he, with
the greatest difficulty, found opportunity to present
them to the King and the Duke of York, He writes
to Williamson in great discouragement :
* We have store of the Privy Council here, but as
yet no council heard. Whether the arrival of My
Lord-Lieutenant, who is expected here this night, may
produce one, I know not. But New Market is not a
clime for such congregations.' ^
Just when he hoped that the King would return to
London, * a day's rayne ' ^ altered all resolutions,
and the King departed to Euston on a visit to the
Lord Chamberlain Arlington, where everything was
indulged in except public business.
From Euston, the King determined to set out for
Newhall to visit his most loyal Duke of Albemarle.*
In connection with these arrangements, Coventry
further says :
' I perceive there will be no direction in the matter
till his (the king's) own arrival (in London) which is
resolved to be on Saturday night. On Friday night
he lyeth at New Hall and dineth there the next day.
We have had no committee of the Council. . . . Nor,
I believe, shall before our departure. However, I
keep those pages I mentioned in our last to be ready
in case any combination should be resolved on.' ^
* S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 380, No. 120.
» Ibid., No. 140. » Ibid., No. 146.
« Ibid., No. 152. * Ibid., No. 161.
1676] THE KING VISITS NEWHALL 95
On another day he writes :
' We have been almost all day, morning and after-
noon, in the field and His Majesty is at this time at
the Cock Pit by canale [candle] light, and so farewell
to Newmarket.' ^
The occasion of this royal visit gives an excellent
opportunity to inspect Newhall, handsomely be-
decked for so joyous an event. The story of the
Manor of Newhall begins in earliest days. In the
reign of Edward il. it belonged to the monks of
Waltham Abbey. After passing through the hands
of various owners, Thomas Boteler, Earl of Ormonde,
received it from King Henry vii. as a recompense for
the sufferings of his family during the Wars of the
Roses. He had licence also to build thereon ' walls
and towers.' This house was called New Hall to
distinguish it from a more ancient building, the Old
Hall, and not even the iron will of Henry viii. could
change the name to Beau Lieu, — and Newhall it is,
even to this day. The great Henry came into pos-
session through exchange with Sir Thomas Bullen,
father of his second queen. He completed and
beautified the house * in a composition of Roman
and Gothic styles.' The great gate-house, leading
to the grand court, bore an enormous shield with
Henry's own arms carved in stone, with this in-
scription :
' Henricus Rex Octavus, Rex inclitus armis
magnanimus struxit hox opus eximium.'^
This coat-of-arms is at the present day in what was
once the great hall, but is now the chapel of the
* S.P. Dom., Chas, ii., vol. 380, No. 172.
^ Vetusta Monumenta quae, ad vevum Britannicaruni memoriam con-
seyvandam Societas Antiquariovuni Londini Suniptu suo odenda curavit.
Londini 1747. Vol. ii. pp. 1-7. The material for the history of Newhall
comes entirely from this book.
96 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
owners, the Sisters of the Holy Sepulchre. Queen
Mary i. called it her favourite residence, and many
of her state papers are dated from Nevvhall.
The glor>^ of the chapel ^ was the great glass window,
now in St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. This
window is perhaps the most beautiful example of
stained glass in England. It was originally intended
for Henry vii.'s Chapel in the Abbey of West-
minster, and was made at Dort in Flanders. Un-
fortunately, it contained portraits of Henry vii.'s
eldest son Arthur, then Prince of Wales, and Katherine
of Aragon. This prince coming to an untimely end,
his brother, Henry vill., inherited his titles and
also his wife. He disliked to be reminded in this
public fashion of his predecessor, and so presented the
window to the monks of Waltham Abbey. At the
dissolution of the monasteries, its glass was success-
fully preserved from destruction by removal to
Newhall. So that this wonderful window looked
down upon the devotions of Queen Mary and Philip
of Spain, and later, turning Protestant with the times,
saw Queen Elizabeth enjoying the royal manor.
She placed over the house door the arms of England
in a garter, supported by a crowned lion and a griffin
sided by caryatides, and over them this inscription :
'Viva Elizabetha.'
And under the arms :
' In terra la piu savia regina, En cielo la piu lucenta stella.
Virgine magnanima, dotta, divina leggiadra, honesta e
bella.'
Elizabeth granted the house to Thomas Ratcliffe,
Earl of Sussex, and it passed from that family in 1625
to George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. From him
it descended to his son George, and during the
' Now a schoolroom.
-^;-i
M-.
r4
m
m ■■ ■ i
■■..1,1
J^Hf^ll
li
' ',|
X
1676] NEWHALL 97
Commonwealth was sequestered by Parliament. It
was sold to Oliver Cromwell for the consideration of
five shillings, the yearly value being computed to be
;^I039, I2s. 3|d., but he exchanged it for Hampton
Court Palace. Escaping the demolition which was
the fate of many of the old manors, it was probably
restored to the Duke of Buckingham by the King and
from him passed into the hands of General Monck.
Newhall was a glorious mansion at the time of King
Charles's visit. With its red Tudor brick and pic-
turesque chimneys it bore some resemblance to the
older parts of Hampton Court Palace. It consisted
of two large courts, a magnificent great hall, and the
state apartments usual to such a mansion. As well
as the great window, there was in the chapel a large
painting designed by Inigo Jones and painted by
Sir Balthasar Gerbier, for which had been paid
five hundred pounds. The stonework displayed the
various coats-of-arms and devices of the different
owners of the house. ^
Evelyn saw this mansion July 10, 1656, and re-
corded in his diary :
' It is a fair old house, built with brick, low,
being only of two stories, as the manner then
was ; the gatehouse better ; the court large and
pretty ; the staircase of extraordinary wideness, with
a piece representing Sir Francis Drake's action in the
year 1580, an excellent sea-piece ; the galleries are
trilling ; the hall is noble ; the garden a fair plot, and
the whole Seat well accommodated with water ; but
above all, I admired the fair avenue planted with
stately lime trees, in four rows, for near a mile in
length. It has three descents, which is the only fault,
and may be re-formed. There is another fair walk of
^ Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex ; Fitzwalter ; Burcell ; Botecourt ; Lucy ;
Multon ; Mortimer of Attilborough ; Culclieth ; Sidney ; Clunfford ;
Barrington ; Mercy ; Mandeville ; Chetwynd ; Baard ; Brandon ; Dudley,
Earl of Leicester; Henry viii. ; Katherine of Aragon.
w
98 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
the same at the wall and wilderness with a tennis
court, and pleasant terrace towards the park, which
was well stored with deer and ponds,'
The Duke of Newcastle, whose own stately houses
were worthy of comment, once wrote to Albemarle :
* I am perfectly of your Grace's openion there is noe
place so fit and proper for my daughter in all respects
as your Grace's Noble House of New-Hall. It is the
best House, the best Seate, and the best furnished of
any subject's House in the Kingdom.' ^
The passage of two hundred years has sadly
changed that noble avenue. Those limes which
still survive are broken and drooping ; the three
descents which so offended Evelyn's taste are ' re-
formed,' and nothing remains to show their character.
The court * large and pretty ' has vanished. The
ornamental lake is now a horsepond, while white
ducks swim in what was once a moat. Only the great
hall and its surrounding apartments remain to testify
to the departed glories of the last Duke of Albemarle.
But too long have we kept His Majesty waiting for
dinner, which we may well believe was a far better
one than the meal criticised by Cosmo, dei Medici,
in the old Duke's time. For twenty-four hours the
great house shone brilliantly ; the halls and galleries
resounded with the merry voices of courtiers ; the
greensward of the gay pleasance and stately avenue
bore the unechoing footsteps of beauties and
favourites. Then, on Saturday night, the Court
departed for London, leaving the Duke of Albemarle
to irksome quiet. For, as Lord-Lieutenant of Essex
he remained at home to exercise his militia on the
Ox-eye Green, near Chelmsford. ^
Later in the year, he made a great journey to
^ Montagu House MSS. Duke of Newcastle, formerly Lord Ogle, to
Albemarle, December 14, 1684.
* S.P. Dom., Entry Book, vol. 44, No. 129.
/>
1676] A VISIT TO PLYMOUTHA/' 99
Devonshire to visit his ancestral home iit Potheridge.^
His father had rebuilt and embellished this old manor
house at enormous expense, but little time seems to
have been spent there by either of the Dukes. Great
preparations were made for the Duke's reception, and
after his stay at Potheridge he went on a progress
through the county, atterrded by most of the great men
of the place. Exeter was his first stopping-place, and
Plymouth, where the Earl of Bath commanded the
citadel, was in a great state of excited anticipation of
his promised visit, and, with the uncertainty of all
public arrangements in those days, reported to London
his expected arrival from day to day for nearly a week
before he really put in an appearance.
Philip Lanyon writes of the joyous occasion to Mr.
Secretafy Williamson, September 30, 1676 :
y" ■ ' His Grace, the Duke of Albemarle, accompanied
>^ by most of the gentry of this County, coming to this
^ place . . . was met about ten miles off by Colonel
Hugh Piper, Deputy Governor, by the Right Honour-
able the Earl of Bath, Governor of His Majesty's
Royal Citadel of -Plymouth, at the head "of about
eighty horse from thence conducted His Grace to the
entrance of this Town where he was received by the
trained bands, which guarded him quite through the
town, until entering the precincts of the Citadel.
As His Grace came through the Town, just before the
Guild Hall, was the Mayor with his brethren in
Scarlott and the Common Council men in their for-
malities to compliment His Grace ; where he made
a stop and alighted off his horse to salute the Mayor,
after which he was mounted again and rode to the
Citadel, where he was received by the whole garrison
in arms and a salvo of cannon from off the walls.
His Grace being lodged in the Earl of Bath's house,
the Mayor, with his brethren and Common Council
in their formalities, came to welcome him to this
^ The barns were still standing in 1850,
100 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
Town ; at which time the Mayor invited His Grace,
with all the gentry accompanying him, to dine with
him this day, which His Grace was pleased to grant.
When he, with all the gentry of this County accom-
panying him, was treated with all the varieties these
parts could afford. Before dinner, His Grace, with
the Chief Gentry^ were invited to the Guild Hall,
where the Mayor, Magistrates and Common Council
being in session time, were in those formalities. His
Grace and the Gentry being entered the Guild Hall,
were complimented by the Mayor and Magistrates,
affording His Grace and about thirty of the Chief
Gentry the Freedom of this Town. Which His
Grace was pleased to accept of and accordingly, His
Grace and the thirty Gentry were sworn for Burgesses.
From the time of His Grace's entry into this Town, all
demonstrable expressions of joy have been expressed
by wringing of bells and so forth.' ^
From Plymouth Albemarle journeyed to Totnes
to meet all his Deputy-Lieutenants and discuss the
affairs of the militia, a subject in which he was deeply
interested. Soon after his return from this journey,
at Christmastide, occurred the death of the Duchess's
grandfather, and Lord Ogle became Duke of Newcastle.
He was given the Garter, as was also Thomas, Earl of
Danby. Christopher, Duke of Albemarle, and John,
Duke of Lauderdale, were commissioned by the King
to install them at Windsor at a chapter which was
held upon April 19, 1677. ^
As the new year advanced, public affairs took on a
still graver aspect. Albemarle's attention was much
engaged therein, and he actively arrayed himself
with the King's party. Consequently he had little
sympathy with those who opposed the King's conten-
tion that there was no limit to the time for which he
could lawfully adjourn Parliament.
1 S.P. Dom., Chas. ir., vol. 385, No. 243.
2 All Souls College, Oxford, vol. xxxi. No. ccl.
y
i677] THE MINISTERS OF PLEASURE loi
The Duke of Buckingham opposed the King, and he
and his supporters, Shaftesbury, SaHsbury, and Whar-
ton, found themselves in the Tower, and hkely to stay
there unless they begged the pardon of the King and
House. Andrew Marvell, writing to Sir Edward
Harley, gives some details of how they won forgive-
ness :
* Worthy Sir, — . . . The E. of Salisbury, after
having his petition several times corrected, broke the
ice and at last acknowledged therein his unadvised
discourse concerning the Prorogation. Here upon
he was fully discharged only with conditions to make
the same submission to the House of Lords when
sitting. The L. Wharton writ after the same copy
and had the same order. The King jested with him
and said he would teach him a text of Scripture, " Sin
no More." " Your m^y has that from my quotation
of it to my L"^ Arlinton [Arhngton] when he had been
before the House of Commons." " Well, my Lord,
you and I are both old men and we should love
quietnesse. Besides all other obligations I have
reason to desire it having some ;^i500 a yeare to lose.
Ay, my Lord, but you have an aking tooth still." " No
indeed, mine are all fain out." The D. of Bucking-
ham petitioned only that he had layd so long (in the
Tower) had contracted several indispositions and
desired a month's aire. This was by Nelly (Gwenn),
Middlesex, Rochester and the merry gang easily
procured, with presumptions to make it a liberty.
Hereupon he layd constantly at Whitehall at My L.
Rochester's lodgings leading the usual life. The
D. of Yorke, the Treasurer (Danby), and, they tell
me too, the D. of Munmoth, remonstrated to the
King that this was to leap over all rules of decency
and to suffer his authority to be trampled on, but if
he had a favour for him he might do it in a regular
way, etc. Never the lesse it was for some days a
moot pointe between the Ministers of State and the
Ministers of Pleasure who should carry it. At last
Buck: was advertised that he should retire out of
H
102 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
Whitehall. He obeyed and since presented they say a
more acknowledging Petition then either Salisburyres
or Wharton's, whereupon I heare that he was yester-
day bye the same Rule dismissed. People were full
of vaine imaginations what changes he would make in
Court, but he loves pleasure better then Revenge, and
yet this last is not the meanest luxury.' ^
Secret negotiations were meanwhile proceeding be-
tween the English Court and the Continent. Danby
disliked the French connection, but, to further his own
interests, closed his eyes to it. To cement the English
friendship with the Dutch was his first aim, and to
this end he favoured the negotiations for marriage be-
tween Mary, eldest daughter of James, Duke of York,
and William, Prince of Orange. Monsieur William
de Bentinck, as the representative of the Prince, had
already visited England to confer on this subject.^
These negotiations must have been an entire secret
from the members of the Council, for Sir Joseph
Williamson knew nothing of what was going forward.
Albemarle, in August, went abroad, ostensibly to
join the Dutch army, where the Earl of Ossory had
already gone. Monmouth and Feversham were dis-
patched to France, that the balance of friendship
might not be disturbed.^ But Albemarle had with
him a permission to transport a large number of
servants and fifteen horses to Ostend in Flanders,
' Being for his own private use in his Travels.' ^
These travels were certainly conducted very privately,
for Williamson confides to his own notebook :
' Our English everywhere affronted in Flanders,
even those who went to serve in the confederate troops
^ Welbeck MSS., London, August 7, 1677.
* The friend of the Prince of Orange, created Earl of Portland in
T689.
^ Welbeck MSS. Andrew Marvell to Sir Edward Harlcy.
* S.P. Dom., Chas. 11., vol. 334, iN'o. 405.
1677] THE PRINCE OF ORANGE 103
as the Duke of Albemarle, not received at all in his
passes through Brussells by the Governor.' ^
Albemarle was the kind of man who demanded
and received much public attention, and we may
be sure that this neglect in Brussels was of his own
seeking.
In less than two months he returned to Harwich
on the pacquet boat. It would seem that his arrival
was most unexpected to Silas Taylor, Williamson's
agent at this port. This worthy, being summoned
to the ducal presence, was commanded to report to
the President of the Council that the Prince of Orange
had accepted the use of * His Grace's Horses and
Coaches.' ^ Albemarle, highly pleased with himself,
posted off to Newmarket, perhaps bearing the tidings
of the completion of the negotiations for the marriage,
and, after an interview with the King and Duke, he
returned to the port that he might be the first to
welcome the Prince. The port of the Prince's arrival
was not so much a matter of secrecy as a question
of wind. The influence old ^olus had over State
matters is amazing. Dynasties might tremble,
battles might be lost for lack of reinforcements, con-
spirators might fail of the tryst, but if the wind held
in the east, England could take no action. The
uncertain wind made philosophers of statesmen.
The Duke of Albemarle at Harwich, the Dutch Am-
bassador waiting at Ipswich, and some of His Majesty's
coaches on the Suffolk side, made it certain that some
notabilities would meet His Highness on his arrival.^
He finally did land at Harwich, to the delight of the
waiting Duke, and together they departed in great
haste to Newmarket. Early in October the Prince,
with all the Court, returned to London, where the
^ S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 336, No. 437. Williamson's Notes.
* Ibid., vol. 396, No. 191. ^ Ibid., vol. 397, No. 191.
104 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
marriage was celebrated on November 6, 1677.
Ranelagh writes to Lord Conway of the occasion :
' My dearest dear Lord, — Great rejoicings at
the Prince of Orange's marriage, whicli was per-
formed privately in the Duke's closet at St. James's
on Sunday night last. About a fortnight hence, the
young couple leave England. In the meantyme,
nothing is thought of but mirth and fine clothes, of
which I have none, being grown an old man.' ^
At the Queen's birthday ball the bride and bride-
groom appeared and danced together to the admiration
of Mr. Evelyn. The last of November the Prince and
Princess departed on their journey to Holland.
The friendship so auspiciously begun between the
Prince of Orange and the Duke of Albemarle was not
allowed to languish. In December, the Duke sent
over to His Highness a present of dogs and pots of
venison.- The Duchess, not to be outdone by her
husband, entered into an agreement with William
Chapman, the Duke's ' Gentleman of the Bedchamber
and Privy Purse,' who had received a gift of a diamond
ring from the Prince of Orange. Either the beauty
of the ring or a romantic interest in the handsome
young Prince excited the desires of the Duchess. She
greatly coveted the ring. William Chapman declined
to sell it, but was willing to lease it to the Duchess
for life, on consideration of the yearly payment of
twenty-hve pounds. The agreement reads as follows :
' Know all men by these prcssents that I, Elisabeth,
Dutches of Albemarle, doe promise to pay unto
William Chapman yearly the summe of twenty-five
pounds during my life and his life. That is to say,
at the deceas of either life this obligation shall be
voyd, on consideration of a diamond ring which was
given the afor-sayd William Chapman by the Princ
^ S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 397, No. 147. * Ibid., No. 75.
1678] ALBEMARLE'S AMBITIONS 105
of Orange In witness wherof I have hereunto set
my hand and seal this six and twentyeth day of
January, one thousand six hundred and seventy-
seven. (167I). E. Albemarle.
' Witness : EHzabeth Pudsay.
Dorothy Levet.
Mary Brown.' ^
So businessHke a promise should certainly have
been fulfilled. But, some ten years later, on William
Chapman's decease, it was found by his accounts that
the Duchess had never paid one farthing of these
yearly dues.^
The Duke made another journey to Holland in
the spring of 1678. The Marquis of Worcester writes
the news to his wife ; only a fragment of the letter is
preserved. He tells her that the French and Dutch
army are
* very neere of an equality in all other respects, for
'tis likely all but my Lord Ossary will come too late,
there being news to-day of an engagement, and the
Duke of Monmouth and Lord Feversham and the
Earl of Plimouth going not till Tuesday, the two first
to the French, the last to the Holland Army, and
to-day the Duke of Albemarle and Lord Moulgrave
the first to the Dutch, and second to the French, so that
the King will have one sonne on one side, and one on the
other, a Duke on one side and a Duke on the other, two
Erls and two knights of the Garter on each side. I am
sure you '11 be glad that another did not go to make
it uneven, I mean your most affectionate husband.' ^
Lord Worcester's prophecies proved but too true.
Although Albemarle hurried to Holland eager to grasp
at miHtary honours, he was once more disappointed.
Fighting was over for a time, and he was again
in England on April 25, taking the Sacrament in
preparation for the new session of Parliament.
1 Welbeck MSS., January 1678. ^ Welbeck MSS.
» Hist. MSS. Com., 12th Report, App. ix., Beaufort MSS., p. 67.
CHAPTER II
With the autumn of 1678 came the disclosure of
that widespread delusion, the Popish plot to kill the
King, set up the Duke of York in his stead, and re-
store the Roman Catholic Church to its former place.
Very little fire produced a vast cloud of smoke.
The murder of Sir Edmondbury Godfrey, a zealous
Protestant Justice of the Peace, before whom the
details of the plot were publicly sworn, drove the
country into a frenzy of blind injustice. All the
Roman Catholic nobles were at once in deep disgrace,
and, before all, the Duke of York. Five peers were
thrown into the Tower under impeachment. Titus
Gates, the informer, lodged in Whitehall, had his own
guard and a pension of twelve hundred pounds a year.
His daily disclosures claimed new victims, hangings
and imprisonments followed, and it behoved even the
most favoured and truly innocent to walk warily.
Albemarle, ever loyal to the Crown, busied him-
self in raising a new Regiment of Horse, for the
King embraced every opportunity of increasing his
standing army. With the new session of Parlia-
ment in October, the influence of public excitement
was even more evident, and, on October 30, the
House of Lords passed a Bill to exclude all Roman
Catholics from sitting in that body. On November
30, Albemarle took the oaths and subscribed to the
Declaration * for the more effectual preserving of the
King's Person and Government by disabling Papists
from Sitting in Either House of Parliament.'
100
1678] THE POPISH PLOT 107
The Duke of Newcastle had remained quietly in
the country during these disturbances, letting his son-
in-law attend to such public business as was needful.
The following letter belongs to this November :
'Albemarle House, November the iztk.
' My Lord, — ^According to Your Graces command I
have made your excuse, and when I have the honour
to receive Your Grace's Proxy I shall use it to the
best of my Judgment as I think Your Grace would
give your vote if you were here, this being all at
present that I have to trouble Your Grace withall, I
beg leave to subscribe myselfe. My Lord, Your Grace's
most faithful, and most obedient Sonne, and Servant,
' Albemarle.
* I beg my most humble duty may be presented to
her Grace.' ^
This letter is sealed with the arms of Monck
impaling the Cavendish arms surmounted by a
coronet.
The Lord Treasurer, Danby, convinced of the
fictitious nature of the plot, made every effort to
defend the Duke of York, and consequently found
himself in deep waters. He had fallen out with
Ralph Montagu, late his agent at the French Court,
and this gentleman, returning to England, was elected
to a seat in the House of Commons. Danby knew him
to be a dangerous enemy, and, on his return, seized his
papers. But the astute Montagu managed to secrete
at least one of the first importance. This was nothing
less than a letter from Danby empowering Montagu
to stipulate for a payment by France to the King of
England of six hundred thousand livres annually for
three years, as the price of his neutrality. At the
bottom were written the fateful words : ' This is
written by my order, C. R.' The public excitement
1 Welbeck MSS.
io8 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
of this Christmas week had seldom been equalled in
the course of English history.
The King, endeavouring to save Danby from im-
peachment and the Tower, saw nothing to do but
dissolve Parliament. This Parliament had sat for
eighteen years, and had been elected in the first wave
of enthusiasm over the restoration of the monarchy.
Although strongly Cavalier in its character, it had
long been at variance with the King, and the chances
were decidedly against the coming election bringing
in anything but a majority of members diarretrically
opposed to the Court party.
Albemarle had now an opportunity to try his
skill at an election, and on February 13, 167I, he
writes to Lord Danby, giving his opinion of the
strength of the various candidates for election from
Essex.^ That the fight was * brisk ' ^ William Har-
rington assures Thomas Littleton in describing one
of the elections, and he continues :
* They appeared in the field on Tuesday, supported
by the Duke of Albemarle and most of the principal
gentry. They were opposed by Col. Mildmay who,
upon the refusal of Sir E. Mildmay the night before
to join him, had taken in a young Mr. Honey wood.
. . . Lord Gray of Warke managed the country very
briskly for them, and the two parties nearly came to
blows. Sir E. Mildmay 's party, though not a tenth in
number, were drawn up in the field of their oponents,
called for a poll. But after dragging it on to noon on
Friday, they then retired on finding that they were
in a hopeless minority.'
A newsletter of the day continues :
' The poll of Essex ended not well yesterday noon.
It was a mighty election in point of Numbers, and
several mischiefs had like to have happened. One
» Leeds MSS., Hornby Castle.
* Hist. MSS., I3<A Report, App. vi., Fitzherbert MSS., pp. 19-20.
1679] THE ELECTION IN ESSEX 109
Mr. Turner was so rude that he struck Col. Mildmay
(the successful candidate) on the face and pulled him
by the Nose, giving him very ill language.' ^
The triumph of Colonel Mildmay was far from pleas-
ing to the Duke of Albemarle, for he branded him one
of the * fenathticks ' [fanatics]. ^ Another letter records
how a countryman retorted * to a great man, who
told him he had better be at home looking after his
harvest, that he had rather trust God with his crop
than the Devil with the choice of Parliament men.
Others saying they would venture their corn to save
their land.'
More material support than the hand of Providence
was invoked in most quarters. Mr. Evelyn complains
in connection with his brother's election as Knight
of the Shire for Surrey, that * the country coming in
to give him their suffrages were so many, that I believe
they eat and drank him out of near 2000 pounds, by
a most abominable custom.' At Norwich, Sir Thomas
Browne wrote :
'Then was a strange consumption of beer, bread,
and cakes. Abundance of people slept in the market-
place, and lay like flocks of sheep in and about the
cross.'
In this crisis of events the King summoned Sir
William Temple from his garden on the Thames.
Under his advice, a new scheme for the formation of
a Privy Council was drawn up. This, in order that
all the members might consult together on State
matters, was restricted to thirty men. That it might
be above considerations of self-interest, and also
represent authority, its members must be men of
wealth ; their joint income must not fall beneath
1 Quoted from Newdigate-Newdegate, Cavalier and Puritan, p. 131.
» Leeds MSS., Hornby Castle. Letter of Albemarle to Lord Treasurer
Danby, February 13, 167I.
no THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
three hundred thousand pounds a year. Its character
was half official and half popular. Under Temple's
insistence, Halifax was summoned as a member
by the reluctant King ; but the charm and wit of
his conversation speedily won his Sovereign's re-
gard. To the amazement of all parties, Lord Shaftes-
bury was made President. Albemarle and the Duke
of Newcastle received early appointments. This
Council was a failure from the first. Shaftesbury's
dismissal soon followed, leaving Halifax, Essex, and
Sunderland to form a coalition nicknamed ' the
triumvirate.' The other members of the Council
were now mere figureheads. Albemarle's attendance
was rare ; and unless he had some private end in
view his name seldom appears among those present.
On the other hand, he was constant in his attendance
at the House of Lords.
The new Parliament, elected at such vast expense
of beer and gold, struggled through a three months'
session, leaving but one result of their meeting worthy
of record — the Habeas Corpus Act, and ' that only
passed its third reading in the House of Lords because
the Whig tellers, in joke, counted one very fat lord
as ten.' ^
A storm, however, was brewing in Parliament which
could not fail to break before many days had passed.
The Duke of York had been ordered to Brussels
to avoid disaster. Lord Danby, on the other hand,
was obliged to endure calumny as best he might. In
exasperation he writes to the King concerning the
treatment received by him at the hands of the Duke
of Monmouth:
' Whose animosity against the writer has moved
his Grace to declare pubHcly that he (Danby) ought
not to be allowed to plead the King's pardon. And
^ Cambridge Modern History, vol. v. p. 224.
i679] THE EXCLUSION BILL iii
Sir Thomas Armstrong had some hot words yesterday
with the Duke of Albemarle to the same purpose, and
said the Nation could not be safe whilst I was in being. '^
Also the Duke of York complained to his son-in-
law, William of Orange, from Brussels, June 8, 1679 :
' I know so well the concerns you have for me as
easily to believe the trouble all these extravagant
proceedings of the House of Commons against me has
givene you. I did not thinke they could have been
so violent, and have so sone forgott the oath of Allegi-
ance that they had so lately taken, but when we con-
sider how strong the Presbiterians are in that house
it is not so extraordinary a thing for they will never
fail to lay hold of any oppertunity to downe with
monarky, and S'' Tho: Clargis made a very good
remarke in the speech he made against the bill, that
most of those that were for itt, I think he sayd all,
were either Presbiterians or their sonns, but I hope
these and some other proceedings of the Commons
will have so allarumed his Ma: [Majesty] and the
Lords that he will at least take some vigorous resolu-
tion and they will stand by me.' ^
As a pawn in the political game, Monmouth was
now of the first importance. The discovery of the
Popish plot had thrown the nation into a frenzy of
alarm. Men dreamed of the fires of Smithfield and
the terrors of the Holy Office. When they considered
the prospect of a Roman Catholic king in the person
of James, Duke of York, their terrors were renewed.
Statesmen deftly fanned these fears, and the result
was Shaftesbury's famous Exclusion Bill, which was
designed to prevent the Duke of York from inheriting
the crown of Great Britain and Ireland, and which
dominated politics for the next two years. Who
should be heir in James's stead divided the factions
still more violently. William, Prince of Orange, son
1 PTist MSS. Com., gth Report, part ii. p. 45G.
* Manuscripts of the Rt. Hon. F. J. Savile Foljambe, Osberton.
112 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
of the daughter of Charles i., was the choice of Lord
Danby and his followers. If Charles il.'s queen
remained childless and James had no son, he would
reign in any case, as his wife was the eldest child of
James. The terms of the Exclusion Bill placed him
one instead of two steps from the throne.
Shaftesbury, father of the Bill, drew his poHtical
strength from the Nonconformists. Their candidate
and his was the Duke of Monmouth. Shaftesbury^
started the false storj^ of a m^^sterious black box said
to contain a contract of marriage between Charles ii.
and Monmouth's mother, Lucy Waters, The Coun-
cil and people at large were much agitated by
this tale. So much so, that when the King became
seriously ill, in August 1679, Lord Halifax, alarmed
at what might happen, hastily recalled the Duke of
York, lest he should be out of reach at the moment
of the King's death. The King, however, recovered,
Monmouth was banished to the Netherlands, while
the Royal brothers returned to London amid bonfires
and ringing of bells. Hahfax at this juncture re-
tired from office, and the Duke of York, after another
brief visit to Brussels, returned to receive a great
ovation from the City of London before his departure
for Edinburgh.
Although Monmouth was suffering banishment, his
empty but beautiful head was quite turned by the
prospect held out to him by Lord Shaftesbuiy and his
party. He had always been a spoiled child from his
first introduction at Court, and his father, the King,
had forgiven him many an escapade. But when he
returned to England, without permission, and in-
solently struck the baton-sinister from his arms, he
stretched the bonds of Charles's good nature too far.
In spite of his earnest prayers, the King refused to see
him, and commanded him to leave the Court. Men-
1679] COLONEL OF THE GUARDS 113
mouth so far obeyed as to leave London, but only to
go on a semi-royal progress through the west, attended
by shouts of the populace, who acclaimed him the
' Protestant Duke.' In his character of Prince of
Wales he touched for the King's Evil.
Dire and swift was the punishment that befell him.
Monmouth held numberless ofhces, both civil and
military, and from all of these he was summarily
removed. The King had not far to look for another
favourite upon whom to bestow these vacant offices.
He summoned the Duke of Albemarle from Newhall ^
in haste. In response to the royal command the
Duke arrived at Whitehall late the same night, when
the King made him Captain of His Majesty's Life
Guards of Horse on the spot,^ and Captain and
Colonel of the ist (King's own) Troop of Horse.
His commission reads :
* Ch. R. To Duke of Albemarle, Capt. of Guards.
' We reposing our especiall trust in your loyalty
and experience in military affairs doe hereby appoint
you to be Captain of all the Guards of Horse, Life
Guards of Horse levyed and raised and shall be levyed
and raised to attend our person in that quality in
the roome of James, Duke of Monmouth. Giving
you hereby authority to arme, traine, exercise, order
and command them in all things according to the use
of warr and as belongeth to the Power and office of a
Captain of our Life Guard of Horse and to hold and
enjoy all such rights and priviledges, Preheminence
Honours and Allowances as are in any way appertain-
ing to the charge and office of Captain of all our Life
Guard. — You are to obey such orders and commands
as you shall from time to time receive from us only.*
'■Nov. 29, 1679.'
^ Correspondence of the Family of Hatton (Camden Soc, 1878), vol. i.
p. 207.
2 Luttrel's Diary, vol. i. p. 27.
2 Quoted from Arthur, The Story of the Household Cavalry, vol. i.
p. 141-2, note 5.
114 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
To Monmouth, the sight of his junior, Albemarle,
commanding his Horse Guards was most galling.
For Albemarle, who had once followed so admiringly
after Monmouth in many a midnight revel, had, in
these later years, kept close to the King's person, and
voted with the King's party, until he had become the
trusted supporter of both the King and the Duke
of York. That very summer, just before the King's
illness, he had attended him at Windsor and accom-
panied him to Hampton Court. From this palace he
later joined the King in his barge on a visit to
Deptford to view the launching of the Sterling Castle,
a new third-rate frigate. From thence the royal
party betook themselves by sea to Portsmouth — for
King Charles in these days took an unwonted interest
in his navy.^
The Popish plot had resulted in death to many,
fines and imprisonment for more ; even at the end
of two years its fury had not been exhausted. Albe-
marle was still called upon to give orders for the
pursuit of suspected persons among his old neighbours
in Essex — a duty which must have been painful to one
of his friendly nature.
* Collnel Warcup, being informed upon Oath that one
Paulson a Jesuit and Procurator for the Jesuits in the
County of Essex, and places adjoining, had been lately
seen in the House of Old Lady Petrc, Mother to the
Lord Petrc in the tower, and that there was a great
probability of his being there still, gave notice thereof
to the Lords of the Council who immediately gave
order that his Grace the Duke of Albemarle should
give directions to all the Depty-Leutenants to search
the House with a considerable force as well as for the
said Paulson as for what writings and papers they
could find. . . . The Old Lady being demanded upon
her Honour whether the said Paulson were in her
* Domestic Intelligence, Tuesday, August 5, 1679.
i679] COURSING OF GREYHOUNDS 115
House or no, her Answer was that she would not speak
an untruth upon her Honour, neither would she betray
him if he were there, but gave them full liberty to
make as long and as diligent a search as they could.' ^
Amid these great affairs, Albemarle had time to
engage in one of his favourite amusements, that of
coursing with greyhounds — a sport in which he had
long been interested. ^ The Duke of Ormonde evi-
dently looked upon greyhound racing with contempt,
and a correspondent, Colonel Cooke, writes to him in
this wise from London :
* A monsterous nationall concerne of a grey -hound
match between the Duke of Albemarle and Sir Ralph
Dutton obligeing my judgship to appearr hear, . . .
Yesterday, the two great antagonists for the lawrell
of being the best grey-hound master have matchd five
greyhounds for one hundred pounds each dog and one
more. The odd match to be run the first day the
weather will permit. The judg for both, I have
backd my country man with fifty-five ginys. Of the
successe Your Grace may expect a perfect account
heare after.' ^
Unfortunately, the promised letter was never written,
or the Duke of Ormonde did not preserve it, for we
have no record of the success of the * two great
antagonists.'
Letters are rare during these years — perhaps de-
stroyed at a time so full of distrust. We must depend
upon the semi-weekly newspapers for news of the
Duke's affairs.
' Newmarket. — On the i8th Instant was a Race Run
for 100 pounds between the Duke of Albemarle and
^ The True News, or Mercurius Anglicus, No. 28, February 29.
2 Among the Belvoir MSS. there is an account of ten shilUngs having
been paid to the Duke of Albemarle's servant who had brought a leash
of greyhound whelps to Lord Roos.
3 Hist. MSS. Com., 6th Report, App., Ormonde MSS., November 18,
1679, p. 741.
ii6 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
Mr. Ossley the six mile course. Mr. Ossley rid his
Own gelding himself against the Duke's Horse which
is called Tinker. There was great odds against Mr.
Ossley, but he won the Race. His Majesty and His
Royal Highness were on Horse back to see it run.' ^
* The Duke of Albemarle had a Wrestling, etc., at his
House for the better diversion of the Best of men '
[The King ?].2
* A difference lately happening betwixt 2 Gentle-
men of the Guard, wherein a Duel had ensued had
not his Grace the Duke of Albemarle interposed, and
by his wonted goodness obliged them to obedience
to his Majesty's late Proclamation and their own
old friendship.' ^
The Court was again at Newmarket in the spring
of 1680, and John Stewkeley writes to Sir Ralph
Verney (April 29, 1680) :
' On Tuesday, the King went to Newmarket. He
dined at Audley Inn (End), treated at night by the
Duke of Albemarle.'*
The Privy Council journal shows that the Duke was
in London throughout June, attending with unwonted
zeal the frequent meetings of the Council. The
Colonial papers report him acting as Lord High
Constable of Carolina, and appointing all military
officers in that colony. Throughout August he was
absent from Council meetings, but in September he
was once more in London.
October was a month of strain and tension. The
Exclusion Bill had passed the Commons, and a bitter
fight might be expected in the House of Lords. The
names of Whig and Tory for the opposing parties
had now come into common use, and the parties them-
^ Smith's Current Intelligencer, No. 12, March 20-3, 1680.
* Mercurius Civicus, No. 7, April 8, 1680.
* Ibid., No. 9, April 14, 1680.
* Hist. MSS. Com., jth Report, App. i., Verney Letters, p. 47S.
i68o] TRIAL OF LORD STAFFORD 117
selves were more sharply defined than their Immediate
predecessors of the town and country. The Whigs
were in the ascendant, and the Green Ribbon Club
flourished. Its meetings at the King's Head Tavern
at the bottom of Chancery Lane were attended by
Shaftesbury himself. The final overthrow of the Bill
took place November 19, when hour followed hour
of debate before the King and a crowded House.
The King was heard to whisper ' the kiss of Judas,'
when Monmouth urged the passage of the Bill as the
onh^ means to safeguard the King's life. Halifax re-
plied to every onslaught of the Whigs by a series of
brilliant speeches — fifteen or sixteen times he spoke
that day, and finally at nine o'clock at night the Bill
was overwhelmingly defeated by a vote of sixty-three
to thirty. The Commons were furious, supplies were
refused, and a Bill introduced to form a Protestant
Association for the government of the country with
Monmouth at its head.
Parliament had yet another duty to perform before
the year was concluded, in the trial of Lord Stafford
for plotting against the King's life. Evelyn gives
many details of this occasion. Westminster Hall
served as a background, where were both Houses
of Parliament seated with great dignity, and an
especial box provided for the King, and another for
the Court ladies. At the opposite end sat Lord
Stafford, dignified, admirable in his carriage. He
was sixty-nine years old on the very day of his trial.
Grouped with him were the Lieutenant of the Tower,
the fateful axe-bearer, the guards, and the prisoner's
two daughters. Old Sergeant Maynard led for the
managers of the trial, * being now nearly eighty years
old, the same who had prosecuted the cause against
the Earl of Strafford forty years before.' It was a
painful occasion and a sight from which many shrank,
I
ii8 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
so that * the Lords made an order that if any peer
who was in town, without absolute proof that he
was not able to be there, should absent himself at
this vote. . . . Whosoever he was he should be sent
to the Tower.'
Lord Stafford defended himself with energy and
ability, but to no avail. The Peers voted individu-
ally, each arising as his name was called and laying his
hand upon his heart, answered guilty or not guilty,
adding ' upon my honour.' The final count con-
demned the prisoner to a traitor's death . Lord Halifax
and the Duke of Newcastle were among the minority.
' All the other Dukes, to wit : Cumberland, that is
Prince Rupert, Monmouth, Albemarle, and Lauder-
dale, voted him guilty.' ^ ' Many Lords that were
neer relations to the Prisoner voted against him,' for
he was not a favourite in his family circle. This was
on December 5, and the execution took place on
Tower Hill on the 29th.
The times were ominous. Men looked about for
signs and portents. Even scientific Mr. Evelyn,
looking out of his chamber window one DecemlDer
night, towards the west, viewed with foreboding :
' A meteor of an obscure bright colour, very much in
shape like the blade of a sword, the rest of the sky
very serene and clear.' * What this may portend,
God only knows,' he exclaims. ' . . . I pray God
avert his judgments.'
» Hist. MSS. Com., 14M Report, Kenyon MSS., p. 105.
CHAPTER III
In January 1681 the King prorogued and then dis-
solved ParHament. Another election was therefore
imminent. The ancient charters not only of the City
of London, but of many country towns, had been re-
moved by the King's order, and new charters more
advantageous to the Crown had been issued. Albe-
marle, in consequence, received several letters such
as this :
'Feb. 168?.
' May it please your Grace, — Wee thinke it our
Duty to returne your Grace our most humble and
hearty thankes for the new Charter which Wee have
received from his Ma^y by your Grace's favour. Wee
have unanimously and with greate pleasure chosen
our two Worthy Friends to set in Parliament which
formerly served us, and now recommended by your
Grace Which oblidges us to subscribe as We really are,
— Your Grace's Most humble and obedient Serv'^,
Jno. Rolfe.' 1
(And sixteen other signers.)
Albemarle did not enter into this election with the
same enthusiasm that he had shown on the former
occasion. His new military duties interested him far
more. * The new Commandant of the Life Guards '
(i.e. the Duke of Albemarle), observes a contem-
porary record, ' since he hath been Captain of the
Guards, hath made a reform, putting out all Papists
and others Popishly affected that he could find
1 Montagu House MSS. Sir Philip Pariier and Sir Thomas Middleton,
who were re-elected for Harwich at this election.
H9
I2Q THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
therein.' ^ As an anti-climax to this zeal, Smith's
Protestant Intelligence, No. 9, records :
* London, Feb. 23. — On Sunday last about One or
Two of the Clock in the morning, his Grace the Duke
of Albemarle returning to Town from the Election at
Colchester, his Coach was stopp'd by the City Guards
who declared to their Captain that they suspected
the persons in the Coach for Priests ; but upon the
Captain's coming to the coach, and knowing his Grace,
the Captain begged his Pardon for their Stopping him,
and allowed the Coach to pass through the City to his
Lordship's house.'
Others were more actively interested in the coming
session of Parliament. Lord Danby, now in the
Tower and still untried, continued to advise the King
by letter. It was his suggestion that the new Par-
liament should meet at Oxford to avoid the hos-
tile atmosphere of London. The Whigs were again
triumphant at the election and pledged to uphold the
Exclusion Bill, the Association, and the restriction
of the King's right to prorogue and dissolve Parlia-
ment, and they rode down to Oxford surrounded by
bands of armed retainers. The Government, not to
be outdone, put the Tower, Windsor Castle, Lambeth
Palace and Whitehall in a state of defence, and posted
a regiment along the road to Oxford for the protection
of the King.
Meantime stirring preparations were being made
in the old University town.
' The Common Council voted that no soldier
shall be quartered within the City.' * The Vice-
Chancellor hath issued forth his Order, or to
give it you in the University term — Programa, —
prohibiting all Scholars from frequenting Taverns,
Ale-Houses and Coffee Houses during his Ma^>'^
residence there, upon penalty of being entered into
the Black Book ; which it is observed, will pre-
* Arthur, The Story of the Household Caulry, vol. i. p. 142
i68i] PARLIAMENT SITS AT OXFORD 121
vent all manner of disputes which may accidentally
happen betwixt the Scholars and the Members of
Parliament,'^
The King sent word that he wished Corpus
Christi, Christ Church, and University Colleges 'for
his appointment,' and that ' he would send the Lord
Chamberlain down to prepare them,' Consequently,
' All the Students of Oxford under the degree of
Master of Arts are ordered to retire to their friends
to make room for the Court.' It was affirmed that
the innkeepers of Oxford stubbornly refused to
quarter any of His Majesty's guards, either foot or
horse, and had humbly prayed His Majesty to dispose
of them in other ways,^
The King, Queen, and Court arrived some days
before the date set for the opening of Parliament.
The King spent the interval most pleasantly :
' His Majesty went yester in his Coach about six of
the clock, attended by the Duke of Grafton, the Duke
of Albemarle, the Earl of Feversham, and several
other noblemen to Burford and at Whitney His
Majesty took Horse, there waiting for his coming
several Gentlemen and others. His Majesty went
Hawking across the Country to Burford, where the
Bailiff, attended with the Officers of the Town, pre-
sented His Majesty with a Rich Silverlac'd Saddle
with Haulsters and bridle, worth about fifty Guineas.' *
The Queen was not the only lady who travelled
down to Oxford, The True Protestant Mercury,
No. 25, records :
' His Majesty was pleased to be present at the first
play here, beeing Tamerline {sic) the Great, where
also was the Duchess of Portsmouth and Madam
Guin (Nell Gwynn).'
The Parliament, secured after so much preparation,
* Newdigate-Newdegate, Cavalier and Puritan, p. 137.
- Ibid., p. 140.
2 Smith's Protestant Intelligence, No. 16, March 21-4.
122 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
lived but one short week. The King had come to
an. understanding with France, and was assured of
sufficient income from King Louis. The Commons
insisted on passing the Exckision Bill. While they
debated the King unexpectedly summoned them to
his presence. To quote Burnet's w^ords :
' Very suddenly, and not very decently, he (the King)
came to the House of Lords, the Crown being carried
between his feet in a sedan : and he put on his Robes
in haste, without any previous notice, and called up
the Commons, and disolved parliament ; and went
in such haste to Windsor that it looked as if he was
afraid of the crowds this meeting had brought to
Oxford.' 1
The newsletter continues :
* Here are various discourses concerning the disolu-
tion of Parliament, as to the Consternation of the
Inhabitants of Oxford, who had made provision for
three months, and the very hour the Parliament was
dissolved it was discoursed they would sit till
August.' ^
Albemarle's attitude toward public affairs at this
moment is stated in his circular letter written with
his own hand to his Deputy-Lieutenants of Militia in
Devon :
' Newhall, z-^rd Aprill 1681.
' Gentlemen,— I have received yours of the 15th
from Exeter at your last meeting there, and am sorry
to heare that the militia is in noe better posture and
that you make noe greater appearance at your
general meetings, which I desire may be amended
for the future, as a matter very much conducing to
his Ma^'^^ Service, especially in these times when
loyall men ought frequently to meet and joyne to-
gether to disapoint the wicked desines of rebellious
and seditious people for the preservation of the
> Burnet, History of His Oivn Time (London, iSiS), vol. ii. p 112.
* Cavalier and Puritan, p. 140.
CHRISTOPHER, SECOND DUKE OF ALBEMARLE, E.G.
From the iiiiniatiirc painted by L. Crosse In 1680, no2v in the />ossess!On of
Mr. E. M. Hodgkins
i86i] FORTITER, FIDELITUR, FELICITUR 123
peace of the gover(n)ment as it is established in
Church and State by law, Whereby, & by noe other
rule his Ma*'^ intends to governe according to his
late most gracious declaration. I need say noe more
to persons soe loyall and well affected to his Ma*'^^
service only to desire you according to your wonted
care & zeale to meete as often as you may till you
have settled the militia in such a good posture as it
ought to be, & therein you shall be sure to have the
best assistance that I can give you, expecting to
heare constantly from you of your proceedings
therein, So wishin (g) you all good successe & happines,
I rest. Gentlemen, Your most assured and affectionate
friend to Serve you, Albemarle.
* Endorsed. — A cop(y) of a Ire sent to S"^ Copleston
Bamphfeild, Sir H. Acland, Bar^^s & gr -pho. Carew
K"*^ or to eyther of y'" to be Communicated to ye
rest of ye D. Le^^ [Deputy-Lieutenants] at Exeter
Devon.' ^
Never did he more truly than at this time ex-
emplify the motto of his house, ' Fortiter, fidelitur,
felicitur.'
The unexpected ending of Parliament sent Albe-
marle back to London in a state of great jubilation.
His master had triumphed at last, and Parliament
need no more be considered.^ He himself received
as the reward of loyalty another Joint Lord-Lieu-
tenancy, this time of Wiltshire, and he was the
constant companion of the King. His conduct grew
more high-handed, and he insensibly gave forth more
impressment in his bearing. He had scarcely reached
London before Fate spread a pitfall for his feet.
1 Montagu House MSS.
In spite of the state of public affairs the Newmarket races were not
forgotten. The following notice appeared in March : ' Mouse, the
Duke of Monmouth's gelding against the Duke of Albemarle's grey
golding, the best of three heats, 12 stone for 200 pounds.' — The
Domestic Intelligence, No. 70, March 21, 1680.
* Parliament did not meet again in this reign.
124 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
Captain Bevil Skelton/ perhaps to celebrate the dis-
comfiture of the Whigs, gave a supper party at his
house, where were gathered, among * divers others,'
the Duke of Albemarle and Colonel George Legge.^
These two named guests sat at supper deep in dis-
course. The discussion turned on the Duke's con-
tract for the garrison of Plymouth, of which town
Legge was Governor, and it suddenly ' grew hot.'
The merry revellers were startled to hear, ' You 're
a rascal,' shouted by the irate Colonel at the ex-
cited Duke. Quick as thought the Duke hurled his
glass, wine and all, in the Colonel's face. It is a
miracle that the bottle did not follow the glass.
Blows would have been added had not the company
thrown themselves on the combatants and forcibly
restrained them. One frightened guest sped to the
King with news of what was imminent. Whereupon
the King commanded them, upon their allegiance,
not to stir nor presume to fight. ' And there it
stops,' says gossip.^
Private concerns were also filling the mind of the
Duke at this time. For, in June, he sealed and
executed at Albemarle House the Deed of Release
which played such a prominent part in the great law-
suit concerning the Duke's wills. By this deed he,
in the event of his remaining childless, deeded to
Lord Bath all of his possessions, reserving for himself
only the life interest in the estate. Lord Bath was
present on this occasion, and the witnesses were well-
known friends of both parties.*
^ Burnet speaks of him as ' one of the haughtiest but withal the
weakest of men.' He served as envoj' to Vienna, Venice, and the
German courts. Vol. ii. p. 243.
* Created Baron Dartmouth, December 2, 1682.
' Hist. MSS. Com., i^th Report, Kcnyon MSS., p. 186. Guicciardini
VV'entworth to R. Kenyon.
* Chan. Froc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9.
i68i] AN ILLUSTRIOUS GUEST 125
Albemarle had ordered that this settlement should
be kept a close secret, but Lord Bath could not resist
the temptation to tell the story of his happy prospects
to the members of his own family. Lady Lansdown,
his daughter-in-law, so far forgot discretion as to
repeat the tale, in strictest confidence of course, to
Lady Clarges. This lady, wife of Sir Walter Clarges,
Albemarle's cousin and early playfellow, felt it her
duty in ' respect and kindness to the Duchess of Albe-
marle ' to acquaint her with what was going forward.
From that moment Albemarle was never free from
the importunities of his wife to alter his decision.^
This deed also changed and enlarged the marriage
settlement of the Duchess in case of his death. In
this matter the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle were
consulted, and their satisfaction in the new settle-
ment is amply recorded in letters still preserved at
Montagu House.
Albemarle's popularity at Court was not without
its drawbacks, for, on the presentation of an address
from some gentlemen of the Middle Temple to the
King, His Majesty gave them thanks and ordered
the Duke of Albemarle to entertain them at dinner.^
He was soon, however, to spread his table for a far
more illustrious guest. After much diplomatic cor-
respondence and consultation of statesmen, the Prince
of Orange had come again to London.
' On Thursday the Prince of Orange came to Arling-
ton House, where he was treated at the King's charge.
On Friday he dined at the Duke of Albemarle's.' ^
Lord Arlington proved his frugal qualities, but
^ Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9. Deposition of Sir Walter
Clarges, Bart.
^ Luttrell's Diary, vol. i. p. loi.
^ The Currant Intelligence, No. 29, Saturday, July 30, to Tuesday,
August 2, 1681.
126 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
Albemarle paid for the entertainment given at Albe-
marle House, and a splendid one it was. Of it The
Loyal Protestant records that it was * a noble dinner.'^
The entertainment of the Prince greatly occupied
the Court. Windsor was the scene of the next
festivity.
* On Wednesday last (Aug. 3) there was a great
match of Wrastling at Windsor betwixt the Duke of
Albemarle's servants and those of the Earl of Pem-
broke, of which his Majesty, the Prince of Orange,
together with many persons of quality, were Spec-
tators.' -
Interest centred in the illustrious guest, and the news-
papers forgot to tell the world of the result of this
contest, but The Loyal Protestant is more generous with
details of a like occasion during the same summer.
This was also a wrestling match * where the abettors
were the Monarch and the Duke of Albemarle, each
being represented by twelve men.' Behold the scene
gaily spread in the meadow below Windsor Castle,
where a ring or enclosure was formed. The Queen
and her ladies, fair but distant spectators, looked
down upon the scene from the terrace. Not too
distant, however, to distinguish the red waistcoats
of the King's men from the blue of the Duke's, and
many a pretty wager passed among them as the
struggle progressed. The King, as one of the ' abet-
tors,' sat in the royal coach inside the enclosure,
while his antagonist, ' the Duke (of Albemarle),
mixed with the crowd,' where his activity excited much
applause. When one of the number offered foul play,
the Duke punished him by * tripping up his heels.'
The first victory lay with the Duke, and he cheer-
* The Loyal Protestant, August 2, 1681.
* The Currant Intelligence, No. 30, Tuesday, August 2, to Saturday,
August 6, 1681.
i68i] WRESTLING AT WINDSOR CASTLE 127
fully pocketed two hundred guineas, the amount of
the wager. The victorious wrestlers received twenty
shillings each, while the defeated men were content
with half that amount.
' After which the King's men challenged the Duke's
at backsword. In which exercise, some being unskil-
ful, others were taken in to complete the number.
This was performed with great skill and courage, but
not attended with those barbarous circumstances
which were usual with the Roman Gladiators, who
to shew the Emperor sport, sheathed their Swords in
one another's bowels. Our most clement and gracious
King abominating all acts of cruelty, the issue of this
was only some broken pates and the palm was again
given to the Blues.' After this second defeat, the
record says, ' the King's men were heated and unwil-
ling that the Duke should carry all before him. So
they determined to tr}^ once more. This time the
challenge was to a game of football. The Duke and
his men were nothing loth. Hastily the Goals are
staked out and the ball placed,' ' the Duke held the
handkerchief over the ball, the letting fall of which
was the signal to give the start. And the handker-
chief a reward to him who got the first kick, which
was one of the Duke's own men.'
This valiant fellow had been in all the sports so
' signally active ' as to draw upon himself the royal
approval. ' His Majesty took particular notice of him,
and gave him a guinea.' ' Fortune still appeared on
the Duke's side,' and the honours of the football game
were also his. Yet notwithstanding, ' His Majesty
seemed highly pleased with that day's divertisment.'
To return to England's guest, the Prince of
Orange :
' The same evening the said Prince took leave of
their Majesties and the whole Court, in order to his
Return to Holland. His Highness came that night
to Arlington House, where he was treated at his
128 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
Majesty's charge, and the next day went to New Hall
in Essex, where he was splendidly entertained by his
Grace the Duke of Albemarle.' ^
The Currant Intelligence continues the narrative :
' Last night about six of the clock came hither
(Harwich) His Highness the Prince of Orange, accom-
panied by His Grace the Duke of Albemarle, and
several other Persons of Quality. The Yachts ap-
pointed for His Highness transportation into Holland
not being come, he was resolved to have gone forthwith
in one of our pacquet Boats, which was immediately
got ready for His Highness against he had refreshed
himself at His Majesty's charge ; but about 9 of
the clock that night the Yacht appearing before our
Harbour he took boat.' ^
So Albemarle became a more and more striking
figure at Court, and at the Newmarket races this year
he again entertained the King :
' He supped last night at the Duke of Albemarle's,
and all the jockeys with him, in order to make some
horse matches.' ^
That autumn public interest was diverted with
much talk and some scandal concerning a young and
beautiful widow, the Countess of Ogle, and the story
touched the Duke of Albemarle somewhat nearly. She,
the last heir of the great Percy name, was a charming
young girl, with red hair and pouting lips, of the
plump type so greatly admired in the days of the
Restoration.^ At the age of twelve years she had
been married to the Duchess of Albemarle's brother,
young Lord Ogle. But he, dying in his eighteenth
year,^ left his young widow without suitable pro-
* The Currant Intelligence, No. 30, August 2-6, iGSi.
- Ibid., No. 31, Saturday, August 6, to Tuesday, August 9, 1681.
* Hist. MSS. Com., yth Report, App., p. 513, September 25, 1681.
Daniel Finch to his wife.
•• Lady Ehzabeth Percy. See portrait at Welbeck Abbey.
" November i, 1680.
i68i] THE COUNTESS OF OGLE 129
tectors. While the two great families of Cavendish
and Percy discussed the possession of her fortune,
the young girl was left to the inefficient protection
of her grandmother, Lady Northumberland, for her
mother was already married to Ralph Montagu, for
whom rich widows held an irresistible attraction.
Lady Ogle secretly married Mr. Tom Thynn, one
fine day, but speedily tired of the gentleman, and,
to the horror of all her relatives, disappeared.
Rumour said that she had betaken herself to ' my
Lord Duke of Albemarle's protection,' ^ But the
truth was that, pretending a desire to purchase some
plate, she drove in her own coach to the Old Exchange,
where, descending, she gave orders that her servants
should await her return. These servants were, of
course, somewhat in her confidence, for they awaited
her return till eight o'clock in the evening, when,
returning to Lady Northumberland, they gave the
alarm. Great was the search for the lost lady. She
was not with the Duke and Duchess of Albemarle,
and it finally transpired that she had gone abroad
to the protection of Lady Temple, wife of the ambas-
sador in Holland. The end of the story was tragedy.
She had already attracted the attention of Count
Koningsmark. He determined to marry the heiress
at all costs, and going over to London, with some of
his own German mercenaries, contrived to have them
set upon Mr. Tom Thynn in his coach as he drove
through Piccadilly, where they wounded him so
severely that Lady Ogle was very soon a second time
a widow. Koningsmark was arrested, and great was
the scandal. In his distress he wrote to Albemarle,
who furnished him with sympathy, but nothing else.^
1 Belvoir MSS. Charles Bertie to the Countess of Rutland.
* The letters which passed between Koningsmark and Albemarle
are preserved among the Montagu House MSS.
130 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
The matter was finally adjusted when the actual
murderers were executed, and the Count, shamefully
acquitted by the jury, escaped to France, where he
renewed his suit to Lady Ogle,^ but without success.
Two years later she was happily married to the
Duke of Somerset, who had such great satisfaction
in her manners and her ancient lineage that after
her death, when he had contracted a second marriage,
he reproved his new wife, who had laid her hand
upon his shoulder in an uninvited caress, with the
words :
* My first wife, who was a Percy, never presumed
upon such a familiarity.'
This year, so full of great deeds, closed with a
whisper of scandal concerning the Duke of Albemarle
himself. The following letter tells its own story :
The Earl of Westmorland to the Duke of Albemarle
*Jermin Street, Nov. 28, 1681.
' Being so highly elevated with your wine, which
you gave me, may in some measure plead my excuse
for presuming to contend with you at a game I never
saw before, and then paying not long after 500
pounds, which was a sum far greater than I use to
play for, I hope it may upon Second thoughts be
thought by you a sufBcient acknowledgement of my
folly — which I ought to pay for. These reasons,
and my Lord Oxford's acquainting you how very
prejudicial it stands with my fortune to pay more, I
hope will satisfy your Grace.' ^
Lord Westmorland should not have complained,
for he was in the height of the mode. Dorothy, Lady
* Dean Swift nicknamed the lady 'Carrots from Northumberland,'
and this pleasantry costliim a bishopric. — Sidney, Diary of the Times of
Charles II., vol. ii. pp. 224-5, note.
* Hist. MSS. Com., \^th Report, Montagu of Beaulieu MSS., p. 177.
i68i] L'AUTRE LEU 131
Sunderland had written to Lord Halifax hardly a
twelvemonth earlier to tell him that :
' My Lord Cavendish had taken up money, at fifty
and three score pounds in a hundred, to go into
France, and he lost a thousand in two nights at
Madame Mazarins (Hortense Mancini), That stops
his journey for a time,'
Lord Sunderland, Chief Secretary of State, playing
at basset, gambled away five thousand pounds in
a single night. High play was the delight of both
men and women. When Lord Thanet desired the
place of Chamberlain to the Queen, he made his
court * in letting one of the bedchamber women play
his money with Her Majesty at I'autre leu.' ^ The
King himself did not disdain to fill his purse at the
expense of foreign visitors. This same letter records
that :
* The King, Queen, Duchess of Portsmouth, and my
Lord Feversham made a bank of 2000 pounds and
they won 2700 pounds of the Frenchmen.'
^ Quoted from Cartwright, Sacharissa. Dorothy Sidney to Lord
Halifax. MSS. of the Duke of Devonshire.
CHAPTER IV
Throughout these tumultuous months of 1681, the
Duke of York had remained discreetly in Edin-
burgh. From thence he wrote to Colonel Legge to
condole with him for the loss of some office and also
to rejoice :
' That the Duke of Albemarle is to have it, since
you were to part with it, for he is true to the
Crowne.' ^
Ten days later the Duke of Newcastle wrote to the
Earl of Danby, dating from Nottingham Castle :
' My wife went erly this day to Wellbeck, retorning
to-day, to order our little building there soe that we
may goe there three weekes hence. Wee are certaine,
God willing, to have my daughter Albemarle here a
Thorsday.' ^
And later, the Duke writes to the same friend :
' I know your Lordship loves me so well as to pardon
me that I acquainte your lordship that my daughter
Albemarle is here and in good health.' ^
While the Duchess was paying this visit to Welbeck
the Duke spent his Christmas in London. Athletic
exercises still held his interest. The True Protestant
Mercury reports that on December 30, 1681 :
' A match of boxing was performed before His
Grace the Duke of Albemarle, between the Duke's
footman and a butcher. The latter won the prize
as he hath done many before, being accounted,
' Hist. MSS. Com., \itli Report, Dartmouth MSS., p. 70.
* Welbeck MSS. ^ Welbeck MSS.
132
i68i] THE LORD OF MISRULE 133
though but a httle man, the best of that exercise
in England.'
The Duke accepted an invitation from the Gentle-
men of the Temple ' to keep the Revels ' with them.
There he found himself in the company of the Duke
of Grafton, Lord Feversham, Lord Hyde, and several
persons of quality who also did them ' the honour to
dine with them there, and were splendidly enter-
tained.' Old Narcissus Luttrell's words give hope
that these noble guests enjoyed the ' Lord of Misrule,'
and dancing, song and jests. For the Gentlemen of
the Inner Temple were accustomed to give masques
and revels with much magnificence and considerable
expense. Evelyn, with the superiority of a modern
critic, characterises these entertainments ' as an old
riotous custom,' having ' relation neither to virtue
nor policy.'
The Domestick Intelligence, No. 64, records that the
guests were received at their landing, for they entered
from the water gate, and * were saluted by His
Majesty's Trumpeters and conducted through a
guard of Halbertiers to the Hall,' where they 'No
sooner entered but they were again saluted with
musick and sumptuously entertained with abundance
of varieties. Their Majesties' healths going joyfully
round.' We are further informed that the noble
guests * departed highly satisfied.'
Monmouth, in these days of enthusiastic loyalty, was
sadly out of favour, a condition which he took with
very bad grace. He grew petulant and quarrelsome,
challenged Halifax to a duel, accusing him of being
the cause of all his misfortunes. Moreover, the sight
of Albemarle gaily prosperous and blithely command-
ing his old troop of guards was too much for his
proud spirit. Two days after the great dinner at the
Inner Court the two young men met. Monmouth,
K
134 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
who had witnessed a parade of the guards, thought,
or at least said, that he found them lacking in disci-
pHne. Such words could bring about but one result.
* The Duke of Albemarle challenged and would have
brought it to a duel.' But Monmouth, feeling
perhaps that he was already sufficiently in the bad
books of his father, ' avoided it.' ^
The thoughts of both young men were diverted by
interest in strange guests who came to the English
Court early in the year. The Muscovite Emperor
had sent an Ambassador, whose outlandish manners
and dirty habits greatly amused the ladies and gentle-
men. Now came an Embassy from the Emperor of
Morocco. Hamet Ben Hamet Ben Haddu ^ seems to
have been cleaner than the Russian, but his many
ceremonials, as a devout Mohammedan, greatly in-
convenienced his escort. He would never travel be-
fore sunrise or after sunset. Nor would he or any of
his suite, except the mufti and the cook, drink wine,
a painful deprivation to his English hosts. All the
party dressed in their native garb, with scimitars
and slippers, their legs and breasts bare, and as they
passed through the country they were much admired
by the rustics. * They were met at the Tower of
London by His Majesty's coach of state and also a
vast number of coaches of the nobility who had come
out to see the strangeness of the sight.' ^
The Ambassador and his retinue also gave great
pleasure to their entertainers by riding their Bar-
bary steeds in Hyde Park, but they were soon driven
1 Hatton Correspondence, vol. ii. p. 12.
2 Engraving by R. White after Kneller. George Vertue (Brit. IVIus.
Add. MSS. 23069, p. 30) records ' the picture of a Morocco Embassador
half length by the life done by Mrs. Rosse, dated 1682, his name and
titles above ; she painted the picture at the same time as Kneller
pamted him in oyl, but sitting to have both at once.'
' Loyal Protestant and Domestic Intelligencer, January 3, i68|.
i682] HAMET BEN HAMET BEN HADDU 135
indoors by the January cold. The Duke of Monmouth
entertained him, and was astonished and not a
little offended to be told by the frank Ambassador
that it was his duty to fear God and honour the
King.i
A stranger in London in those days was shown much
the same sights as a traveller of to-day. Hamet was
conducted to the Abbey for a sight of the tombs, to
Dr. Busby's School, Westminster Hall, the House
of Lords, and the House of Commons.^ He proved
to have a very catholic taste in entertainment, and
was ' pleased to divert himself at His Royal High-
ness's Theatre, where, to the satisfaction of His
Excellency, was acted the tragedy of Mackbeth.'
And, on another day, * His Excellency went to view
the rarities of the Tower.' ^
The King received the Embassy in his great
banqueting hall and with unusual ceremony, for
it was beheved that a commercial treaty between
England and Morocco would prove of great value
in connection with the occupation of Tangier. The
Emperor's present to the King proved as diverting as
the Ambassador, nothing less than two lions and thirty
ostriches. The King laughed heartily when he saw
them, and said he could think of nothing more appro-
priate to send in return than a flock of geese.* The
crowd was such that the gates had to be shut and the
path lined with guards.^
The Duke of Albemarle, with the rest of the Court,
had been much attracted by the Ambassador. They
became good friends, and together ' gave themselves
the divertion of the Bear Garden when several dogs
^ Loyal Protestant and Domestic Intelligencer, January 20, i6S|.
2 Ihid., February 7, 168^.
» Ibid., February 18, i68f
* Reresby, Travels and Memoirs, p. 76.
^ Loyal Protestant, February i8, 168^.
136 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
were killed. His Excellency seeming very well
satisfied with the sport.' ^
To enjoy the spring races of this year, ' Their
Majesties with the whole Court departed from White
Hall to Newmarket,' where * His Majesty prepared
to divert himself with horse and foot-races, cock-
fighting and so forth, for a month.' "
The Court was not yet rid of the Ambassador from
Morocco, for he followed the King to Newmarket,
first borrowing money from the Lord Treasurer to
pay his expenses. He proved an interesting guest,
and caused great excitement by racing his Barbary
steeds. More serious entertainment was supplied him
at the University of Cambridge, whither he went to
receive the degree of Doctor of Laws. This degree
seemed but an empty compliment conferred by royal
command upon a visiting dignitary whom the King
designed to flatter. But it was hardly five years
before another King forcibly reminded the donors of
the incident, declaring that they had thereby estab-
lished a precedent by which he was able to bring
sorrow and chagrin not only to the whole University,
but also to their Chancellor.
Scant time had Albemarle to enjoy the society of
his new friend from Morocco. He was in close attend-
ance upon the King, and successfully pursuing the
advantage of his position. Monmouth had been
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge for several
years. Here was one more honour to be plucked
from him and given again as a reward for obedient
service. The Vice-Chancellor of the University jour-
neyed over from Cambridge to Newmarket to re-
port to the King through Lord Conway (principal
Secretary of State) the reception of the Morocco
' The Impartial Protestant Mercury, No. 91, March 3, i68|.
* Protestant Intellij^encer, March 4, 168J.
i682] CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY 137
Ambassador and of the degrees conferred in accord
with letters mandatory. Lord Conway had a sur-
prise in store for him when he acquainted him with
the fact that Monmouth was no longer their
Chancellor, but had been removed ' for undutiful
behaviour,' and at the same time presented further
orders under the royal signature.^
' Our natural son James, Duke of Monmouth, has
given us just cause to remove him from our service.
* We have thought fit to require you to proceed to
a new election of a Chancellor. . . . And whereas,
as well the integrity and constant loyalty of Our Right
truly and Right-entirely beloved Cousin and Coun-
selor, Christopher, Duke of Albemarle, as the re-
membrance of the great and eminent service per-
formed unto us by the late Duke of Albemarle his
father, hath justly institute him to be near our person,
and renders him in every way qualified for the dis-
charge of so high a Trust and whose Nomination
thereunto will be most agreable unto us, We further
hereby recommend him to your choice as a mark of
our indulgent care of your prosperity and welfare,
and so we bid you farewell.' ^
Secretary Conway and Sir Leoline Jenkins already had
written to each other on the subject and conferred
as to the precedent of dismissing and electing of past
chancellors.^ The University * received the royal
mandate as usual with the most implicit submission,
and the Duke of Albemarle was elected without a
competitor by 175 votes.' *
A lively correspondence at once ensued between the
Chancellor-Elect and his University. In answer to
the official announcement, Albemarle indited a letter
1 Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 5852, fo. 426.
2 Bennett's Register, Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
* S.P. Dom., Chas. 11., 1682, vol. 418, No. 33.
* Bennett's Register, Emmanuel College.
138 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
in his best style to Dr. Coga, the Vice-Chancellor,
and the University Senate, April 1682, assuring them
that of all the favours shown to him by the King,
none had caused him more satisfaction than that His
Majesty has thought him fit to be a patron and
support of learned men, and the more so as he
considered himself under a particular obligation
to cherish that loyalty and learning which his father,
by the Grace of Heaven, had the honour to rescue
and restore.^
Dr. Coga returned a stately epistle of thanks,
stating that his Grace's letter, accepting the chancel-
lorship, had been received by the Senate with all
possible joy, and that although, owing to the absence
of the Public Orator, they could not now return their
thanks, they would endeavour fitly to do so at the
installation.
The Duke, knowing that he must have a speech in
readiness for the same occasion, directed his secretary,
Mr. Vivian, to procure copies of speeches delivered
on former occasions. The Duke of Buckingham's
inaugural address had been preserved. Nathaniel
Vincent of Clare Hall furnished a copy. But the
most careful search failed to produce the words of
Monmouth on his installation. Vincent writes again
to say that :
'The Duke of Monmouth's speech, which you
inquire after, was so very short that there have not
been copies kept of it. There is a full account of his
installment, much more large and full than anything
we have had before recorded of that nature, which the
Vice-Chancellor will bring with him to London, that
my L'* Duke may have the perusal of it, on Tues. —
come Senight. Out of this narrative I have tran-
scribed all that is extant of our last Chancellor's
^ Copy in Thomas Vivian's hand. This correspondence is in the
possession of Lord Montagu oi Beaulieu.
i682] THE CHANCELLOR ELECT 139
Speech. I pray you tender my duty to his Grace our
Chancellor-Elect and to her Grace our Lady Chancel-
loress, who some years ago did me the honour to accept
my attendance when she viewed our University.'
Albemarle, in the quiet of Newhall, conned his own
installation speech, and won golden opinions from
his new friends at Cambridge by contributing funds
for the repair of Trinity College.^
Meanwhile halting poets sharpened pens and pre-
pared Pindaric odes of alarming length upon the happy
event. Mr. Nahun Tate, masquerading as Dryden,
continued ' Absalom and Achitophel,' and under
the name of Abdael addressed the Duke of Albemarle
thus :
' Brave Abdael, o'er the Prophet's school was placed ;
Abdael, with all his father's virtue graced ;
A hero who, while stars looked wondering down,
Without one Hebrew's blood restored the crown.
That praise was his ; what therefore did remain
For following chiefs, but boldly to maintain
That crown restor'd ? and in this rank of fame,
Brave Abdael with the first a place must claim.
Proceed, illustrious, happy chief, proceed !
Foreseize the garlands for thy brow decreed ;
While th' inspired tribe attend with noblest strain,
To register the glories thou shalt gain :
For sure the dew shall Gilboah's hills forsake,
And Jordan mix his stream with Sodom's lake ;
Or seas retired their secret stores disclose,
And to the sun their scaly brood expose ;
Or, swell'd above the cliffs, their Billows raise,
Before the Muses leave their patron's praise.'
This is our only record of Albemarle as a patron of
the arts. Wharton's notes thus explain the quotation :
' Abdael . . . the Duke of Albemarle, son to the
brave General Monck and President of Wales [sic].
^ There is a portrait of the Duke of Albemarle in Garter robes
in Trinity College Library.
140 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
He was liberal and loyal and a leading man among
the friends of the King and the Duke, on which
account he was severely stigmatised by the Whig
writers.' ^
Truth compels the admission that these poets
insensibly voiced the praises of the father to the
neglect of the son. If the second Duke had not
been the most devoted of sons, he must have resented
the sight of so many Hues diverted from their
accredited subject. Some happiness, however, was
to be gained when the Muse chanted :
' How much We of Thy great Father see,
God-like Albemarle in Thee.'
Meanwhile in London vast preparations were going
forward at Albemarle House against May ii, 1682,
the day fixed for the installation. The great re-
ception rooms were furnished with their bravest
hangings, and savoury smells escaped the kitchens
where the master cook and his assistants prepared
for the dinner that would follow the ceremony. ^ The
Duke came up from Newhall in readiness for the
event, and a great throng from the University
assembled in London.
On the day appointed, a great company of learned
folk repaired to Northumberland House about two
o'clock in the afternoon, marching in three divisions.
First a hundred young students in divinity, in their
gowns and caps, Masters of Arts, Bachelors and
Doctors of Divinity. The second division : about the
same number of students. Bachelors and Doctors of
Physic. The last division : students in the civil law,
the doctors being in their scarlet gowns, who were
• Quoted from Dryden, The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden,
with notes by Samuel Derrick, 1760, ' Absalom and Achitophel.'
* Dome stick Intelligence, No. 100, May 4-6, 1682.
i682] INSTALLATION CEREMONY 141
followed by a considerable number of ministers of
the Church of England residing in London and
formerly students at the University.^ It is not to be
supposed that either devotion to the glory of their
University or interest in the new Chancellor brought
forth such an assemblage of learned men. All the
doctors and officers received two guineas each for
attending an installation, and Masters of Art one
guinea.^
This noble procession proceeded down the Strand
and up Piccadilly to the garden of Albemarle House.
Here they were met by several guards and solemnly
escorted into the courtyard, where His Grace re-
ceived them. Afterwards they were conducted into
a large room :
* Where the most eloquent speech was made to His
Grace in Latine, by Mr. Billers, the University
Orator, shewing the great satisfaction they had in their
election, insisting much on the praises of his deceased
father, and likewise of himself in a very particular
manner,' ^
This speech lasted for three-quarters of an hour, and
had been preceded by the installation ceremonies and
by a speech from the learned Dr. Coga in English.^
These lengthy bursts of eloquence paved the way for
the Duke's speech.
* His Grace was extremely obliging and was pleased
to answer them in a short but pithy oration, that
before it had been always his inclination to serve
them, but now it should be his business ; and if he
did not do it effectually it was their fault not his.' ^
This bit of oratory was followed by an elaborate
* The True Protestant Mercury, No. 141.
* Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 5852, fo. 426.
* The True Protestant Mercury, No. 141, May 10-13, 168?.
* The Loyal Protestant, No. 154. * Ibid.
142 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
entertainment, nine tables being furnished with
all varieties of things in season, and all sorts of
* miisick, trumpets and kettledrums. The Morocco
Ambassador, upon the Duke's invitation, was also
pleased to be present with his retinue. About six
o'clock in the afternoon the solemnity ended, and all
returned to their respective lodgings highly pleased
with the entertainment.'
Albemarle had been made a Doctor of Laws by
Cambridge University some years before, and if he
was not a University man himself, he certainly knew
how such should be treated .^ The merry- Court
circle, much entertained by this excursion of their
companion into the realm of learning, wrote
facetiously on the subject. Lord Preston in Paris
was informed that ' a most learned cavalcade has
gone from Northumberland House to Albemarle
House,' ' to make his Grace the Chiefest Scholar in
Cambridge.' ^
1 The degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon the Duke of
Albemarle, September 27, 1681. Several papers relating to the Duke,
including the Latin oration, are preserved in the Registry, Cambridge
LTniversity.
2 Hist. MSS. Com., ^th Report, App. i. Letter of Mr. Fleetwood
Shephard to Lord Preston in Paris, p. 381.
CHAPTER V
The Duke of Albemarle's obvious enjoyment of
Monmouth's former honours awakened anew in that
nobleman the spirit of revenge. Taking counsel with
his intimate circle, he determined to bring his suc-
cessor into disgrace with the King. His Majesty
not only frowned upon duelling, but deeply resented
any infringement of his edict upon the subject as a
disrespect to his royal authority. Albemarle, then,
should be drawn into a duel. Opportunity alone was
wanting. Fate played into the hands of the plotters
through the agency of Lord Grey of Werke, who found
an occasion to bring Albemarle into the desired state
of reckless wrath. This lord strolled one day into a
gunsmith's where all the young men of fashion re-
plenished their armament. If we mistake not, he
espied, as he entered, a footman in the Albemarle
livery lounging near the doorway. His eye next fell
on a richly wrought pistol, and he raised it for closer
inspection. * What coxcomb's fancy is this,' he de-
manded in no uncertain tone. * Some fool ! ' he
continued contemptuously. The proprietor respect-
fully replied, * It has been bespake by the Duke of
Albemarle.' The footman, jealous for his master,
sped home to report that Lord Grey had called the
Duke a fool. The gunsmith, not far behind, appeared
at Albemarle House to report that his noble patron
had been named a coxcomb. Outraged honour
could have but one relief. Sir Walter Clarges was
summoned in haste. The challenge was sent and
144 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
accepted. Sir Walter conferred with Lord Grey's
second, Colonel Godfrey. Swords were the weapons,
and the meeting took place early on a sweet June
morning in Tottenham Court. The principals engaged
and also the seconds. Colonel Godfrey proved the
better swordsman, and Sir Walter, bleeding and dis-
armed, saw the doughty Colonel join his principal,
swearing to Albemarle that unless he delivered' his
sword, ' he '11 run him in the guts.' With two against
him, the Duke fought on for a moment or two. But,
seeing no remedy, he then delivered his sword.
' Here the Wh — [Whig] had the better on it,' com-
ments our correspondent.^
Sides were taken in a trice. The town seethed with
the story, and proclaimed the Duke a hero or a coward,
as politics sympathised. As an aftermath :
* Two days afterwards three blades came into Wh.'s
Coffee House, and sat down by Lord Colchester, Sir
Thomas Armstrong,^ and several others, and talked
much of Albemarle's gallantry ; but this discourse
not being regarded, they arose, and going out, one of
the three turned and said, if any there spoke re-
flectingly of the Duke, of his carriage in the late duel,
he gave them the lie, and swore they three would fight
with any three of them ; but the Wh — [Whigs] let
them go away without answering them.' ^
The newsletters continue the story :
* The King was very angry at the duel . . . but
being informed that the Lord Gray did not speak the
words designedly upon the Duke, sent for 'em and
made 'em friends, but said he was very sorry to see
those that should be patterns of keeping Laws, break
'em under his nose.' *
1 Hist. MSS. Com., -jth Report, App. i. Letter of J. Verney to E.
Verney, p. 479.
^ Executed for complicity in the Rye House plot.
' Hist. MSS. Com., 7//j 7?f/>o>'^, App. I. J. Verney to E. Verney, p. 479.
* Newcligate-Newdegate, Cavalier and Puritan, p. 73.
i682] AFFAIRS OF HONOUR 145
So a thin crust of peace was laid over these fiery
spirits. But the State secretaries were profoundly
disturbed, and found much subtle political meaning in
these gentlemanly affairs of honour.
Lord Conway, who was with the King at Windsor,
wrote to Sir Leoline Jenkins in London, dated June
8, 1682 :
* I have had the honour to receive your letter of the
7th and have communicated it to his Maj^'*^ who sayd
thereupon, he would speak with the Duke of Albe-
marle ; after that I met his Grace, and discourst the
business with him, who told me the whole story.
How that a gentleman of the King's Troop of Guards,
a man of as good birth as Sir Henry Ingoldsby had a
quarrel with him in a Coffee House and is reddy to
give him satisfaction if he desire it, but how it should
come to be fixt upon the Duke of Albemarle, I cannot
comprehend. If their councel runs upon such ex-
travagances I doubt not but it will expose them to the
Severity of Law, as well as the censures of all rational
men.' ^
In spite of the King's command the quarrel be-
tween Monmouth and Albemarle was but gently
sleeping. Lord Herbert having allowed himself to
call the Guards the banditti, was set upon by a
guardsman named Rodney who took upon himself
to avenge the insult. As Lord Herbert was riding
with the Duke of Monmouth in his coach at the
time of the attack x^lbemarle was obliged to send
messages of explanation if not apology, while the Lieu-
tenant-Colonel imprisoned the offender at Windsor.
In later months the quarrel broke out afresh among
their underlings. One of the Duke of Albemarle's
former servants, now promoted to be a guardsman,
took occasion to insult the Duke of Monmouth's
coachman, wondering why he wore a Whig's livery,
1 S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 418, No. 420.
146 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
to which the man retorted that he knew the time when
he wore Tory 's Hvery. Blows were exchanged, and
later three guardsmen fell upon the unarmed coach-
man and severely injured him. The Duke of Mon-
mouth naturally was gravely offended and brought
the matter to the notice of the King, and the over
zealous champions of the Colonel of the Guards were
ignominiously turned out of their troop. ^
As for Albemarle himself, the political atmosphere
surrounding these quarrels enabled him to escape
the malice of his enemies, and kept him high in the
favour of the King. His next duty was to entertain
the Morocco Ambassador, with whom the treaty was
at last signed and sealed ready to present to the
Emperor at Fez. His last visit was to be paid to the
Duke of Albemarle before he embarked at Rye. On
July 6 he took his way to Newhall. Of his reception
The Loyal Impartial Mercury, No. 13, reports :
' We hear that on Tues. last his Excellency the
Ambassador from Morrocco arrived at New Hall
accompanied with several of the Nobility and Gentry
and was kindly received by his Grace the Duke of
Albemarle, who gave him sumptuous entertainment,
the Country people flocking in great numbers to see
his Excellency and his retinue.' ^
Many months afterwards Albemarle received a
letter of thanks for his courtesies from this visitor,
written perhaps by the interpreter, the renegade
Englishman who had accompanied him to England :
' May it please your Grace, —
JA signatured ' Yo*" Grace's letter I have received
\ in Arabic J with a great deal of Joy ; ye friend-
ship which I made with yo"" Grace when in England
shall always continue, and onely wish for that happy
' Newsletters, Welbeck MSS., June 2 and 5, 1683.
2 Also Loyal Frotesiant Mercury, No. 177.
i682] A MOST NOBLE FEAST 147
hower to see yo'' Grace in this country to make some
returne of ye kindnes I received ; had yo"" Grace come
hither ye King would have done anything you could
in any reason desire, for when I mentioned yo^ Grace's
name to ye King he rejoyced in ye hopes of seeing you,
and ye reason of ye delay in ratifying what I did has
proceeded from false informations that ye King would
have it imediately (sic) from an Ambassador's own
mouth. I have nothing more then to remain, Yor
Grace's Perpetuall friend,
' DiMSERA, ye 27 Fed. i68f.
' About 20 miles within ye passe to Sus.' ^
During this summer of 1682 Albemarle was busy
as one of the delegates appointed to hear the case of
one Mrs. Brigit Hyde ^ and Mr. Emerton, a cause
celhbre of the day. He also attended as an especially
honoured guest the * Most Noble and splendid Feast
of the Loyal Young men and apprentices of the City
of London,' and was elected steward for the ensuing
year, together with the Duke of Ormonde, the Earl
of Halifax, the Earl of Craven, the Earl of Sunderland,
Lord Finch, and others.^ It proved to be a very jovial
party, where some thousands sat down to dinner
' accomodated with all the Rarites imaginable.'
Much scandal was raised because so many ministers
of state were present, the more so that a great feast
organised by the Whigs had been prohibited. Then,
too, he waited upon His Majesty at Windsor, attended
the races at Winchester in the royal party, and later
departed by sea to Portsmouth ^ to discharge his
military duties. In the autumn His Majesty and the
Duke of York were entertained by a great boxing
match between the Duke of Albemarle's porter and
* Montagu House MSS.
- She afterwards married Lord Danby's second son.
^ Loyal Protestant, No. 192, August 10, 1682. Fifty pounds was
contributed by eacli steward.
* Loyal Protestant, No. 201, August 31, 1682.
148 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
a soldier of the Foot Guards, ' Wherein, though with
much difficulty, the former remained Victorious.' ^
As the winter proceeded newsletters spread the
report that the Duke of Albemarle was being seriously
considered as Ambassador to the Court of Fez.^ The
matter went so far that John Sydenham wrote his
superior officer a letter of farewell.^ Then the whole
matter came to nothing, and another was sent in his
place.
Albemarle in all probability was not greatly dis-
appointed over the loss of the Morocco Embassy.
He was in close attendance upon the King, and the
matter of the command of the English troops in
Holland had, once more, come to the royal notice.
Albemarle had long yearned for this office. As early
as 1680, he had written a letter to one whom he
addressed as 'Your Royal Highness.' The Historical
MSS. Commission Report identifies this personage
with the Duke of York.* Unfortunately, the original
letter has been mislaid, but it seems more probable
that it is a draft of a communication to the Prince of
Orange. It states that upon the lamented death of
the Earl of Ossor^^ he (Albemarle) had hoped to
succeed to his command, under His Royal Highness,
in the service of the States-General, but he had heard
that the King had recommended the Earl of Dun-
barton. Having now learned that the Earl is not
likely to succeed in his pretensions, he has therefore
His Majesty's permission to address His Royal High-
ness, assuring him that if thought worthy of the
employment he will be ever obedient to his commands
and devoted to his service. This he followed with
a present of a saddle horse to the Prince.
1 Domestick Intelligence, No. 140, September 21-5, 1682.
- Welbeck MSS., December 2, 16S2. => Montagu House MSS.
■* Hist. MSS. Com. Report. Montagu ol Beaulieu, p. 176.
i682] A COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 149
In the spring of 1682 Lord Conway wrote to Lord
Arlington (?) from Newmarket :
' His Majesty is likewise very Sensible of the
necessity of having an English general of his own
nomination over his subjects in Holland, and will do
all that is in his power to procure it for the Duke of
Albemarle.' ^
What subtle working of Charles 11. 's policy was to
be served by Albemarle cannot now be followed with
certainty. It can, however, easily be seen that he
would be more sure of carrying out his promises to
France without betraying his secret treaty to the
astute William of Orange if his English troops in the
Netherlands were under the generalship of a blind
adherent of the King and Duke of York. So Albe-
marle became a pawn in the dark game between King
Charles and Louis xiv. King Charles himself late
in the year wrote to his nephew a letter well calcu-
lated to bring Albemarle the coveted prize :
'Whitehall, 8 December 1682.
' I have formerly proposed a thing to you in which
I am every day more confirmed in my opinion as a
thing which in many respects is necessary to be done,
and, therefore, I think it proper now to renew to you.
It is to have a Commander-in-Chief of all my Subjects
who are or who shall be in the Service of the State.
I am satisfied it will tend to their discipline and
obedience, that it is for my honour and dignity, as
well as for that of the nation, and that it will be
advantageous to you in particular, in order to your
greater influence upon them, to have such men from
time to time set at the head of them as shall make it
their business to be Serviceable to you ; besides, you
will find that either in case of recruits or other levies
of men in England, it will be no small encouragment
for men to go over when it shall be known that a man
1 S.P. Dom., Chas. ii., vol. 418, No. 459.
L
150 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
of quality and interest here is to have the immediate
commandment of them under you, to do them right
upon all occasions that shall arise.
' Of this the late Lord Ossory is a very good in-
stance, and you find so good an effect of the credit he
had both here and amongst the men under his com-
mand that I need no other argument to convince you
of how good use it will be to have that place filled as
it ought to be. The man I think upon is the Duke
of Albemarlle, who hath all the qualifications that are
necessary to make himself to succeed the other, who
was so well approved by every body, and particu-
larly by yourself. If it should be said that the States
will not be ready to do it, because it may draw some
charge upon them, that objection might very well be
answered, yet to take it off entirely, I am content
there should be neither pay nor salary tied to the
place, but that whosoever hath it shall discharge it
upon their own expense, without expecting anything
more than the name and character of Commander
under you of the English, with the same powers that
were enjoyed by the late Lord Ossory.
' I do not doubt that you will be of my opinion
when you have well considered it, so as I will say no
more but to assure you that I will ever be yours,
' C. R.' 1
So urgent a letter might w^ell be believed to bring
about the desired result. Consequently, it was with
surprise and chagrin that the King found that the
Prince of Orange had given the appointment to Henry
Sidney. True, he was no soldier, and was as frivolous
as any courtier at Whitehall. Burnet says that he
was so set on pleasure that he was not able to follow
business with a due application. On the other hand,
he was the brother of Algernon Sidney, so that he had
certain ties with the Whigs at home, while abroad
he was known as a personal friend of William of
1 Sidney, Diary of the Times of Charles II. (ed. Blencowe). Intro-
duction.
i682] MONSIEUR DE BENTINCK 151
Orange. Not only incensed at the total disregard of
his wishes, but believing that Sidney was far from
the man he would choose to have at the head of the
English troops in Holland, the King ended the matter
by speedily recalHng Sidney to England.
Albemarle, however, never attained to the goal
of his desires. His only recompense was a pair of
Flemish carriage horses sent to him by the Prince of
Orange. Monsieur de Bentinck's letter explains why
this gift was not received until 1684.^
' DiEREN, 17^/' Aoust 1684.
* Monsieur, — Je suis honteus de ne vous avoir pas
remercie, plus des honestelez que vous m'avey fait
Mons^, quant j'estois en Angleterre ; ce qui en est
la cause c'est, que son Altesse d 'about aprez mon
retous en ce pais, ordonna a Mr. d'Auwerkerck de
vous chercher un attellage de chevous de carosse ;
j'ay attendu a escrire par celui qui les emmeneroit ;
cela a dure un an avant qu'il en oit peu treuver qui
valussent la peine destre envoyez ; j'espere — que ceus
si le seront, et que vous les treuverez aussi bons, que
Son Altesse treuve le cheval que vous lui avez donne ;
pour moy, Monsieur, faites moy la justice de croire
que pour avir garde longtemps le silence je n'en suis
pas moins reconnoissant de vos civilitez, et que je
seray tons jours avex boucoup verite. Monsieur, votre
tres humble et tres obeissant {sic) Servitem,
' W. Bentinck.' 2
The Duke of Albemarle was now at the apex of his
career. At the age of twenty-nine he was a Privy
Councillor, a Gentleman of the Bedchamber, first
1 Sidney, Diary of the Times of Charles II., vol. ii. p. 33. These
coach-horses probably resembled those ordered by Lady Sunderland
through the agency of Henry Sidney, to whom she wrote : ' Employ
all your skill, for one pair of the finest and largest grey coach-horses,
the most dappled, the statliest persons you can possible get ... a bill
of exchange for ;^ioo I imagine will do the business . . . pray let me
have two very handsome, large, broad-backed beasts.'
* Montagu House MSS.
152 THE DUKE IN PUBLIC LIFE [book iv.
Colonel of the King's Own Troop of Horse, Captain of
His Majesty's Life Guards, Colonel of the Queen's
Regiment of Horse, Lord -Lieutenant of Devon, and
Joint Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire and Essex, and
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. In
addition, he held many minor offices both political
and honorary. Up to this moment he scarcely had
asked for the favours which had been showered upon
him. In the loss of the command of the Enghsh
troops in Holland he received his first public reverse of
fortune. What attitude he took in this moment is not
recorded. But in this year his youth fled from him.
He was never again the joyous, splendid figure of these
early years. Although he again climbed to success
and won for himself substantial favours, his aspect is
sombre, heavy, and oppressed. The reahties of life
now crowded thickly upon him ; what he won in
coming years he wrung from reluctant hands.
BOOK V
THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE
' My thoughtless youth was wing'd with vain desires ;
My manhood long misled by wandering fires,
Foliow'd false lights ; and when their glimpse was gone,
My pride struck out new sparkles of her own.'
Drvden, The Hind and the Panther.
CHAPTER I
Although to outward seeming the life of the Duke of
Albemarle was successful from every aspect, although
newsletters detailed something of his splendour, and
gazettes gave assurance of his political standing, two
very grim spectres were staring the young Duke out
of countenance. The first of these came to public
knowledge in the newsletters that chronicled the
arrival of the Morocco Ambassador. These also re-
tailed the astonishing rumour that Albemarle House
had been sold. The rumour proved to be only too
true. The splendid feast on the installation of the
new Chancellor of Cambridge was perhaps the last
of Albemarle's entertainments in his magnificent
abode. Even his vast income could not withstand
the inroads made by a constant stream of royal guests,
ambassadors, and visiting dignitaries. Horse races
at Newmarket and Winchester, basset at Hortensia
Mancini's had taken more than their share of the once
rich possessions of the Moncks. He was forced to
follow the Duke of Buckingham's example and sell
his great London house. Its beautiful garden was to
be divided into streets, the house pulled down, and
buildings erected by a real estate company. To-day,
all that remains to show where this great house stood
is the name Albemarle Street, and at the corner where
was once the mansion itself, a public-house which still
displays the sign, ' The Duke of Albemarle.'
In spite of his financial embarrassments, Albemarle
was as conspicuous at Court as ever. He was at
Windsor with the King in August and at the races in
165
156 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
the autumn. He was still influential in securing
petitions for his old friends and retainers. Perhaps
the Duke felt no pressing need for economy, as he had
received thirty-five thousand pounds by the sale of
his house and the land about it.^ The very moment
of the sale found him and the Duchess sitting to
Murrey the painter for full-length portraits, with what
destination is discovered by the Duchess of Newcastle,
who adds the following postscript to a long letter to
her ' Deare Betty.' ^
* I give my Lord Duke and you a looo thankes that
your Pictures from head to foote are doeing for
Nottingham Galer>\' ^
The only record of retrenchment, apart from the
selling of Albemarle House, is reported by his mother-
in-law, who testified that he reduced the allowance of
his Duchess to one thousand pounds.* This allow-
ance was presumably an addition to the income she
always received from the rents of the manor of
Grindon which was part of her dower.^ She also held
a patent as ' Searcher * for the county of Kent, and
derived an income from the Customs collected thereby.®
She was further concerned in a lace trade which
brought her some hundreds of pounds yearl}^'
^ Evelyn, Diary, September i8, 1683.
- Montagu House MSS. Frances, Duchess of Newcastle to Eliza-
beth, Duchess of Albemarle, April i, 1682.
^ Nottingham Castle. The painter was probably Thomas Murrey,
whose portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Albemarle now hang in the
ballroom at Welbeck Abbey.
* Welbeck MSS. The Duchess of Newcastle's deposition.
* Montagu House MSS. Letters from the Duke of Newcastle con-
cerning the payment of these rents.
* Searcher : an officer of the Customs, whose business it was to
search outward bound ships, and to examine if they had prohibited or
uncustomed goods on board.
^ Welbeck MSS. William Chapman's Papers : Accounts of the
Duchess of Albemarle. Chapman acted as deputy of the Duchess
in this business.
ISh. lip,,
:l
t«*JI«,
f
^§SBt lUi^
:l
o '^
i682] TWO SPECTRES 157
Among her patrons in this business the Duke of
Albemarle and the Earl of Bath figure largely ;
' Maddam Rutland, the Prince of Denmarke and the
Dutchess of Mounmouth ' also appear as purchasers of
* Roufles and Cravats.'
Although Albemarle must have suffered acute
chagrin in this period of financial embarrassment, he
owned so many broad acres and manor houses that
prudent management might in time have extricated
his affairs, but prudence was not a characteristic of a
successful courtier.
His second spectre wore a far more serious aspect.
The health of the Duchess had grown more precarious,
and she now began to show active symptoms of mental
disorder. This first manifested itself in extreme irri-
tation with those about her. Whether or not her
accusations were due to delusion, she was clearly in
a highly excited state of nerves and mind. Albe-
marle's first intimation of her trouble came just at the
moment of his entertainment at the bear-baiting of
the Morocco Ambassador. He, himself, was secretly
disturbed by his embarrassed financial condition, and
aflame with high hope at the prospect of the command
in the Netherlands ; so that it could hardly have
been without some degree of vexation that he read,
one March morning, a letter from his wife who was
at Newhall, wherein she informed him that her feud
with his cousins had broken forth with renewed
vigour.
' ... Is it unkindnes,' she demanded, ' to give
your Cosen Farwell a forknight waring ^ after fore
yeares heareing she will be remoueing evuery week or
mounth when she is a skanddewll to oure fammaley
in leading such a sorte of life besides ye nursing up
Thefes and wemmen of an ill-fame which noe outher
* Warning.
158 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
but such cretuares will seruis her. I goe apon sure
grounds that she has too noted wons at this time and
all ze Tone and Country crys out of me for leveling ^
in a Bauddy Tafaran ; ^ my freinds sent me word I
never was Bread up in such a place, and they thought
I had more honner then to induare it, soe I am forst
to cleare the senceur to my relacions by haveing her out
in that time.' ^
A week later ' cosen Farwell ' sent a letter, contain-
ing her views concerning the Duchess :
'Mar. i68|(?).
' My Lord, — I can hardly beleve what Mr. Farwell
told me that you intended to send Mr. Vivion hether
on Saterday which was to bring me mony to be gone :
and I to take 50 li to lye in the feldes or take up an
in(n) at Chenesforde ? My Lord, is this your Love
and great kindnes you have for me, to turne me out
of dores and take no care for my Removall and not a
farthing of mony for meate nor Clothes ? Is this the
f rutes of the harvist that you have got sence the kinges
Comin in ? Slite noe so much the instrument, my
father, who when he was sent from the king going
thorow London, he was taken and Caryed to the
Commitey of saftey and there was examined what
bisnes he had to doe with his brother in Scotland :
^ Living. * Tavern.
* Montagu House MSS. Elizabeth, Duchess of Albemarle, to her
husband, March 8, i68J. The Duchess was at this time expecting
a visit from her sisters, concerning which her mother wrote : ' 'Tis
resolved thay shall begin thare Jurney from hence to Noringham
Munday the 24th of this Aprill the iirst Munday after Easter weeks
from Notingham to Stamford on tewsday the 25th or to Wansxord
Bridge which is 5 miles further and from thence on Wensday the 26th
to Camebridge where wee desier you will send your Coach and Servants
and conveniance to meete them, . . . that thay may waite on you att
Newhall on Thursday the 27th, where God send you and them a saffe
and happy meeteing. I am very sory you have bin ill. I pray God
send you allways well. I dreamed last night but one that I playd
with a very fine little boy of yours and that it was very fond of mee
and put out it(s) hand often to mee. God send it may prove a rcalitie
and not only a dreame.'— Frances, Duchess of Newcastle, to Elizabeth,
Duchess of Albemarle, April i, 1OS2.
i682] MARY FAIRVVELL 159
the(y) beleved it was about Charles Stuard for the(y)
knew what he was, the(y) told him he was a dangerose
person and shold be clapt into prison ; had I not bene
in Scotland he had not had that exscuse to have made,
for he told them he was going to fech his dauter from
thence and with much adoe got of(f). Sir Thomas
Clarges knowes all this to be trew ; the suckses of his
jurney was hapy for Ingland and for you ; the Reward
has bene nothing but sufferinges ever sence. I shall
never forget the dangeres we were in at see, the
violent stormes upon the quicke sandes and a greate
ship cast away before us, and nothing to be sene but
the mast. Mrs. Bruorton is now in London and can
witnes it, and seing God has left you to be the only
Instrument to requite me for my dangeres then, and
for the uncomfortabel life that I have lived in your
houce, pray Remember when I was to go oute of it
before, you told me your wife was to Receve the
sacrament, that if ever she wold be good natuored she
wold be then, and bid me aske her what was the Reson
she would have me be gone ; she told me she had
nothing in the wo ride aganest me, only she desiored
to be alone, for she loved me so well that she wold
visit me very often, and she hoped I wold do the same,
that I must keep my Coch, but which way it was to
be dun I know not, unles it was as Mrs. Jonson told
me that she wold allow me 500L a (y)eare Rather
then I shold stay. My Lord, is not this very strange
that when she had nothing aganest me she shold be
so desiorose to have me oute of the house ? What
is the Cauce ? nothing but them that you love she
hates, and when I am gone you will find it much
more then now, for now she flateres my sister and S*"
Walter Clarges, home [whom] she cold not indeuer
before, and still hates them in her hart, and for what
cause she hated my Cozen Pride you know not to this
day, and had I not bene here you had bene more un-
hapey by what she told me, for I will asuer you all
there quareles was upon your acount, therefore I
hope you will be kind to her and to me ho [who] are
both sufereres upon your ackount, but I have loved
your Repose and quiet so well that I have mayd it my
i6o THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
holle bisnet to keepe it so, which I pray God continu
it when I am gon. . . .
* I am now going to tel you my full resolution, that
I will be torne in pesis by your one [own] servantes
before I will stir oute of Newhall till I have a hun-
dered and fiftey pounde a (y)eare and the lodge and
land secured for it, my Reputation wolde be more
salved in the lodge, but if you will not let me have
the lodge I will have 400 li a (y)eare in land seteled
upon me that I may not have the trubel of runing up
and doune after youre ofeceres ... of 2 eveles I will
chouse the lest, if if (sic) I must perish I am Resolved
it shal be in youre one [own] houce, and your servants
have my blud before I will stir from hence. Sir, do
not be perswaded by my Lady Duches that this is
enuf for me who Mrs. Archer told me herselfe you
Reuened her by leting of her have her w^ill so much
as you did. She told it me when you was here, and she
was alltering of Albemarle houce, at that time I had
liked to bene (sic) killed by Panton upon your ackount
by flinging a silver candelsticke at my hed which was
brocke in 2 peses with the fall, and for 6 wekes to-
gether tormented with blisteres for your sake.
*M. ff. [Mary Fairwell].'i
Just what arrangement was made with Mary
Fairwell does not appear, but Albemarle hurried to
Newhall as soon as his public duties would permit.
The Duchess was found to be in a very unhappy
condition. Whether or not the sale of her London
home was at the foundation of her trouble, and that
her proud spirit could ill brook reverses of fortune,
certain it is that in the summer of 1682 she began to
show unmistakable symptoms of that mental malady
that recurred throughout the remainder of her long
life. In the autumn she journeyed to Welbeck Abbey.
Of his daughter's condition while on this visit the
Duke of Newcastle wrote to Lord Danby, who was
still in the Tower in spite of petitions:
^ Montagu House MSS.
i682] A DEVOTED HUSBAND i6i
* I saw when my Daughter Albemarle was here
She was not madd, but there was a great consterna-
tion upon her, I sopose caused by her own folley and
Pride and Mallis of others who noe doubt has in-
deavored her ruen a long time and sure never woman
has been so deafe to good councill as she has been nor
did ever Parents doe so much for a Daughter as we
have don for her.' ^
The poor Duchess proved herself a most trouble-
some guest on this visit. She seems to have quite
alienated the sympathy of her parents from herself,
for Dr. Peter Barwick, her physician, in one of his
numerous letters to the Duke of Albemarle remarks :
* I know your Grace will be pleased to assist her
in it with her Parents by procuring a kind and
candid Interpretation of her unfortunate behaviour at
Welbeck when she w^as uncapable of judging of what
she either sayd or did.'
In another connection he speaks of her parents
putting an
* unfortunate misconstruction of things instead of
pity and Compassion for ye saddest of calamities.' ^
In still a different letter, after explaining his
objections to the treatment of his patient insisted
upon by the Duchess of Newcastle, who was a very
masterful lady, he continued :
' My Lord it is greatly for your honour that ye
Duchess of Newcastle has expressed how much my
Patient ows to yo"^ great kindness and affection and
I know yo"^ Grace's kindness to be so great by many
instances, and particularly by that most affectionat
Leter to her, that yo^ Grace will use all possible
Indeavers with her Mother to comply with yo"^
Grace's Judgement and mine in this mater.' ^
1 Leeds MSS., Hornby Castle.
'■ Montagu House MSS. Peter Barwick to Albemarle.
3 Montagu House MSS.
i62 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
Both the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle, as well
as Dr. Barwick testify to the affectionate devotion of
the husband to their daughter during this unhappy
period.
That the Duke had accompanied his wife to
Welbeck, and in spite of domestic cares was con-
cerned with political events is proved by a letter from
one who signs himself J. L. addressed to Lord Danby :
'■Nov. 13, 1682.
* May it please Yo^ Hon^, — Last night my
Lord D. [Denbigh (?) ] came well to Grimsthorp
where he was kindly received both by my Lord and
Lady Lindsey and my Lord signed ye Petticon with
great willingness and hartely wishes yo'' Hon"" good
success by it and soe doth my Lord Rutland who hath
likewise signed ye Peticon. I am commanded to goe
for Welbeck to waite of ye D. of Albemarle, and hope
to have his Grace's favour to-morrow, and soe returne
to my Ld. D. to attend till I have further Comands
from yo"" Lord? wch shall bee faithfully obeyed by
Yo"^ Hon" most humble and obedient Servt.,
'J. L.'i
In explanation it should be said that the Earl of
Danby, wearying of his imprisonment in the Tower,
petitioned His Majesty to release him, and a memorial
on the same subject, signed by nine associated lords,
emphasised the petition in the following words :
' Wee the Peers whose names are hereunto sub-
scribed considering not only the great hardship of the
Earl of Danby 's Case, but being highly sensible of the
dangerous Presid' it may be hereafter to the rest of
your Majties subjects if any man can be made in-
capable of being Bailed, when he can have no prospect
of other deliverance, And conceiving it not to be the
intention of the House of Lords in the making of the
Late Order concerning Impeachment, that ever it
should produce a consequence so injurious to your
^ Leeds MSS., Hornby Castle.
i682] A MEMORIAL TO THE KING 163
Majtie's Perrogative, and so mischeivous to the
Liberty of ALL your Subjects Doe humbly joyne
with the said Earle in his Peticon, and pray your
Ma**® to grant the same with an effectual recommenda-
tion to due consideration of all your Judges.
Albemarle. H. Newcastle.
Lindsay. Rutland.
Bathe. Conyers.
Berkeley. Ailesbury. Oxford.
Denbeigh. Thanet. Norreys.
Yarmouth. Sussex. Feversham. R. Arundell.
Campden.
Maynard. Lumley.^
Shortly after signing this document Albemarle
must have returned to London, where on Sunday
night, November 19, a most dismal fire broke out in
Wapping.2 More than a thousand houses were con-
sumed. * Upon the noise of the fire His Grace the
Duke of Albemarle, the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Craven,
and also the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs accompanied
by their officers, the officers of Ensurance Office, and
others of the City Artificers for p^vension of increase
of fires went down.' Many poor citizens were burned
and injured. The fire spread to the shipping, and
though 'engines with water plaid,' the docks suffered
severely. Albemarle's valour on this occasion drew
forth happy comparisons between his conduct and
that of his great father on a like occasion.^
Christmas of this year was, as usual, spent at
Newhall, where the Duke is reported to have been
' some time, to divert himself.' * In the spring he
once more visited Devonshire to look after his militia,
and the newsletters erroneously reported his death
1 Leeds MSS., Hornby Castle. ^ Welbeck MSS., Newsletter.
* Welbeck MSS., Newsletter. Collections of money were taken to
relieve the sufferers. His Majesty gave ;£20oo, and Madam Gwynn
;^IOO.
* Welbeck MSS., Newsletter.
i64 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
from a fit of the ' choUick.' But ' badness of the
weather' had prevented the Duke's return voyage,
and not his death .^ While absent from Newhall he
received a charming letter from his Essex neighbour,
John Petre, dated March i6, i68| :
' My Lord, — I most humbly begg your Grace's
acceptance of the biggest fish that ever I did take in
my fife, being a pig of your owne sow comming out of
your owne pond ; I did hartely wish your Grace with
me att the taking of him upp, for from the time of
my taking the line in my hand till I landed him in the
boat was a hower by Newhall clock, and my back
was readdy to crack : for the time I was there, which
was but foer or five howers I had verey good sport :
my Lord, I wish your Grace all success imaginable
boath att Newmarkett and wheresoever your Grace
goeth. . . .'2
The Duchess of Albemarle's ailments had by this
time greatly increased. Her mental state was so
serious that her husband added a codicil to his will,
altering his provision for her in case she should never
recover. Several of the letters preserved at Montagu
House were written by her at this time, and they are
quite unintelligible.
1 Welbeck MSS., Newsletter. ^ Montagu House MSS.
CHAPTER II
In June of 1683 Albemarle was to forget his private
embarrassments in a great political crisis. This was
nothing less than another plot to assassinate the King,
and this time the Duke of York with him, and set
Monmouth on the throne. The royal brothers were
to have been attacked and killed, some said only
kidnapped, on their return from the Newmarket
Races at a place called Rye House — ' a place so con-
venient for such villainy as scarce to be found in
England.' ^ The name of this house became identical
with that of the plot. It was now the opportunity of
the Tories and Roman Catholics to take their turn at
harrying their former persecutors ; for many of the
conspirators were thought to be Whigs and haters of
Papists. As in the case of the Popish plot, most of
those who suffered as conspirators were believed to be
innocent even by their contemporaries. There seem
to have been two plots separate and distinct, and yet
sufiiciently overlapping each other to give colour to
the accusations of those who to save their own necks
turned King's evidence. The plotters who meditated
murder were obscure and irresponsible men, some of
them old Cromwellian soldiers. They conferred at
one time or another with the Whig leaders who were
scheming to protect themselves not only from Roman
Catholic succession, but from the policy of King
Charles. These Whig leaders would hardly stoop to so
^ Bramston, The Autobiography of Sir John Bramston (Camden
Society, 1845), p. 182.
M
i66 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
futile a plan as the King's murder. The plot in its
most violent form never came to anything, for a
disastrous fire at Newmarket sent the Court suddenly
to London before the trap could be laid for the King
upon the road. Some three months later, one Josiah
Keeling, a vintner, either from remorse, fear, or hope
of gain, managed to get himself introduced into the
presence of Sir Leoline Jenkins when one of the Lords
of the Privy Council was with him — either Lord
Dartmouth or the Duke of Albemarle.^ Keeling's
confession led to sudden excitement and many arrests
and much false witness. The first conspirators taken
were also the most obscure. Others, knowing that
they would be betrayed, surrendered themselves.
The Duke of Albemarle threw himself into the busi-
ness with all the ardour of his loyal heart, and to
him Colonel Rumsey gave himself up. This prisoner
proved a valuable, if self-interested witness for the
prosecution, and thus escaped punishment.^
Suspicion immediately fell upon the associates of
Lord Shaftesbury, who was lately dead in Holland.
Of these Monmouth threw himself upon his father's
mercy, confessed all, received pardon ; denied his con-
fession among his followers, and then prudently retired
into Holland ; altogether playing as double a game
as can be imagined. Lord Grey, Albemarle's former
duelling antagonist, and Sir Thomas Armstrong
also made their escape, though the latter w^as after-
wards brought back to England and executed. Lord
Russell, Lord Essex, and Algernon Sidney were lodged
in the Tower, while Lord Howard of Escrick turned
informer and so saved himself.
1 Newdigate MSS., mentioned in Cavaliev and Puritan, p. 213.
2 He was witness against Lord William Russell in July 1683, and
against Cornish and Lord Dclamcr in 1685. So general was the feeling
that he had been a false witness that he was exempted from the general
pardon of 1688.
1683] EXECUTION OF LORD RUSSELL 167
Lord Russell felt himself doomed from the moment
of his arrest. ' The Devil is loose,' he said.^ Nothing
worthy of the name of treason could be proved against
him, but all hope was lost when an excited messenger
brought news into the court during his trial that Lord
Essex had committed suicide in the Tower. Russell
was that day condemned to death. Every effort was
made to save his life. The King refused a pardon,
even in the face of an offer of £100,000. The
Duchess of Portsmouth sued in vain. Then his
friends tried other methods. Lord Cavendish ^ pro-
posed the time-worn expedient of exchanging clothes ^
and remaining behind while his friend escaped, but
Lord Russell would allow none of his friends to be-
come involved on his behalf. Undiscou raged. Lord
Cavendish again arranged to lead a carefully selected
party of horse, and attack the guard as the coach
containing the prisoner passed on its way to the place
of execution, while another party should come up on
the Old Bailey side, take him out, mount him on a
horse and make off with him, for it was believed that
the crowd would be actively sympathetic with Lord
Russell. This offer was also refused by the prisoner.
On July 21 the condemned man drove in his own
coach to the scene of execution. By a strange
coincidence the scaffold was set near the door of his
father's house in Lincoln's Inn Fields.* Firm in his
faith as a Christian, he approached death murmuring
a psalm. Two hundred musketeers surrounded him
and cut off any final hope of rescue.
The Duke of Albemarle, Colonel of the Guards,
drew up his horse facing the scene. Beside him was
1 Russell, Life of William, Lord Russell, vol. ii. p. 268.
* The first Duke of Devonshire.
* Oldmixon, History of England during the Reigns of the House of
Stuart, p. 681.
* Green, History of the English People, vol. iii. p. 430.
i68 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
Lord Cavendish, who had taken leave of the prisoner
as he left the Tower, but had followed for one last sight
of the friend he could not save. ' Just as he (Lord
Russell) was going down to the block, some one called
out to make a lane, that the Duke of Albemarle might
see, upon which he looked full that way.' ^ Doubtless
in this brief glance the victim caught one last friendly
farewell from the eyes of Cavendish. This waiting
lord and the Duke of Albemarle were little prepared
for the horror of the scene about to be enacted. Lord
Oxford in one of his private notebooks attributes the
awkwardness of the executioner to political influence.
Be that as it may, neither the first nor second stroke
severed the head. Suddenly Albemarle, horrified at
the needless torture he beheld, drew his pistol to end
the sufferings of the victim. Lord Cavendish cried
out, ' Forbear or we shall all be murdered.' ' Murder,
Murder ! ' echoed the rabble who would brook no in-
terference. One stroke more of the axe and the deed
was done.^
Algernon Sidney's trial and conviction followed.
The weather turned strangely cold, winter held
London early that year. On December 7, while the
Duke of York watched little urchins sliding on the
ice of * the canal in the Parke,' Algernon Sidney died
on Tower Hill, ' very resolutely and like a true rebel
and republican.' ^
The King took but a half-hearted interest in the
Rye House plot. While his ministers vigorously pro-
secuted the conspirators, the King was changing the
officers of his household. He, according to a news-
^ Life of William, Lord Russell, p. 341.
- Welbeck MSS., ' Miscellanea ' of Edward Harley, second Earl of
Oxford, vol. iv. This incident is not mentioned in the Life of William,
Lord Russell.
^ Letlcis of James 11. to William of Orange, December 4 and 7, 1683
(S.P. Dom., King William's Chest, vols. iii. and iv.).
i683] THE COCK PIT 169
letter, ' intends to make a regulation in the officers
of his household, some of them being Whiggishly
incHned, and hath already begun with his Cooks,' ^
And this was more than he had done to please the
Whigs during the terrors over the Popish plot, for
then he had decHned to dismiss his barber, Papist
though he was proved to be.
Albemarle, also, after the first excitement following
the discovery of the plot had subsided, allowed him-
self to become absorbed in domestic affairs. Since
the sale of his town house he had been without a
home in London. As soon as this fact was known,
William Chapman received proposals from those who
had houses of which they would Hke to dispose. This
faithful retainer wrote to his master concerning one
such offer thus :
* This day I mett w^^ Mrs. Hannis who told me she
had comission from the Dutches of Cleavland to let
your Grace know that if you had a mind to take her
house ^ y" should have it for what tearm of time y""
Grace pleas'd.' ^
Albemarle, however, did not come to terms with
the Duchess of Cleveland, and he took up his abode,
temporarily, at the Cock Pit, where his boyhood had
been spent. From thence he wrote to the Archbishop
of Canterbury on behalf of Dr. Samuel Gardiner,
whom he recommended as a * very loyal, learned,
and painful preacher.' * At the Cock Pit, too, was
established the ailing Duchess under the constant
care of her physician, the learned Dr. Peter Barwick,
who wrote voluminously to the Duke in this
wise :
* Newdigate Newsletter, quoted in Cavalier and Puritan, p. 211.
2 Berkeley or Cleveland House, near the site of the present Bridge-
water House.
3 Montagu House MSS., May 6, 1682.
* Bodleian Library, Tanner MSS., 34, fo, 106.
I/O THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
'Westminster, Sept. i, 1683.
* May it please your Grace, — All things continue
well at the Cock-Pit since your Grace went, as far as
I can see, my Lady Duchess taking such things dayly
as may by God's blessing confirm the health which
she has recover'd with great patience and highly
commendable constancy. . . . She tells me she has
lately writ to yo^ Grace, but is so sensible of her late
misfortune by the Post as to send her Leter by
another hand. This is a trouble that so well becoms
her noble mind that all of us that have the honour to
be near her do much rejoyceatit. But alas, My Lord,
there is one great thing (I fear) still behind, whether
yo"" Grace has had any late discours with her about it
or no, I know not. I must still beg leave to be im-
portunat with yo"" Grace in it. It is a thing so far
above my sphere to act in, who am a stranger to ye
family (though yo'' Grace was pleased to think me a
competent person for it) that I am persuaded no
person living except yo*" Grace only has so much
interest in this excellent Lady and her most honoured
Parents as to be able to do it. And yet till it be done
no solid lasting hapiness can be expected. I moved
her Grace in it upon ye very first appearance of her
Recovery before she received those Leters. But then
she seemed to doubt whether she was well enough to
write, and sayd it would not be expected till she was
beter. . . . And yet I can not doubt, observing what
I do of her great respect and affection toward yo""
Grace, particularly of late, but that some kind com-
mands and Incouragements from yo^ Grace will have
ye desired Influence upon her.' ^
Dr. Barwick's own efforts to make peace between
the Duchess and her parents had elicited the follow-
ing letter from the Duchess of Newcastle :
'Nottingham Castle, May the 12th, 1683.
* Sr, — I received yours of the loth, but am very
much conserned you have troubled yourselfe to write
soe long a letter. As to the letters her Father and I
^ Montagu House MSS.
i683] THE PRIDE OF THE DUCHESS 171
write to your Patient thay ware as kind as wee could
write and such as shee had reson to bee ouer Joyd to
receive from us. If thay have any thing disturbed
her wee can not healpe it, but since shee is soe ill a
Judge of kindness, and soe apt to mistake letters our
saffest way is not to write but Pray to God for her
Perfect recovery and to have our servants at New-
castle House give every Post inteligence hou shee dus,
and those that writes will let mee heere the comfort-
able news that shee continews to love her Noble Lord
keeps her owne relations company and is thriffty and
continews to indeuor to pay all her debts and runs in
to noe more. These are the things which Persisted
in will bee the way for her to bee dearer to us than euer
shee was, but Pride, vanitie, insultation, and selfe will,
will worke the contrary in us, and soe shee shall ever
find. That 's all my Lord and I can say. His
affectionate seruice to you, mine to your wife. God
giue His blessing to your indeuors to her health of body
and mind, I am your obliged freind and seruant,
' Newcastle.'
(Addressed) : ' For Mr. Doctor Barwick These.' ^
A week later Dr. Barwick wrote to the Duke of
Albemarle :
* May it please yo^ Grace, — I renewed my re-
quest to yo"^ Grace by the last Saturday Post to mind
my Lady Duchess of expressing her Duty to her dear
Parents. It is a thing that still runs uppermost in
my thoughts, but I know I shall not need to press your
Grace in it any further ; only I humbly beg leave
to acquaint yo'" Grace with the fitness of ye oppor-
tunity, if it may please your Grace to lay your kind
Injunction upon her in a Leter out of hand. For this
day her Grace has layd a Command upon Mr. Lloyd
to go to Mr. Brown at Newcastle Hous, and to bid
him present her humble duty to her Parents, and her
love to her sisters, and to assure the Duke and Duchess
her Parents that she would willingly write to them
1 Montagu House MSB. Frances, Duchess of Newcastle, to Dr.
Barwick.
172 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
if she knew what to write that might be justly and
truly said by her that they would be pleased to accept
of ; and that she would never be defective in her duty,
or to this effect, as I have it from Mr, Lloyd. And I
thought it my duty to give yo'" Grace this Intimation.'^
The numerous letters of this faithful physician
testify to his own fine spirit. It is easy to picture
the old man endeavouring tactfully to bring peace of
mind to the troubled Duchess. His method with his
patient was quite modern, in its departure from the
rough treatment usually accorded to the mentally
afflicted in that and the succeeding century.
The Duke in spite of his wife's ill-health kept
to his attendance upon the King. Evelyn met him
on November 28 at a ' Magnificent entertainment '
given by the Swedish Resident Lionberg to celebrate
the birthday of his King, and remarks :
' The guests were the Duke of Albemarle, Duke of
Hamilton, Earl of Bath, Earl of Aylesbury, Lord
Arran, Lord Castlehaven. ... I was exceedingly
afraid of drinking (it being a Dutch feast), but the
Duke of Albemarle being that night to w^ait on His
Majesty, excess was prohibited.'
In February 1684 the Earl of Danby was released
from the Tower, but not without great financial
sacrifices on the part of his friends, who deposited an
enormous bail in his behalf. Among these was the
Duke of Albemarle. Still further straitened in cir-
cumstances by this generosity, the Duke now took
up his quarters in York Buildings, in the house of
Mr. Bernard Grenville,^ brother of the Earl of Bath.^
The Duchess was still in uncertain health and in a
very undecided state of mind over the choice of
* Montagu House MSS.
2 Hist. MSS. Com., 5^/? Report, Sutherland INISS. Letters of Bernard
Grenville to \V. Leve.son Gower, p. 186.
• York Buildings in the Strand, near Charing Cross.
1684] VARYING WHIMS 173
another home. In fact, it seems to be her varying
whims that kept the Duke and Duchess of Albemarle
so long without a town house. This is suggested by
a letter of Dr. Barwick, who writes :
'■Mar. 4, i68|.
' May it please yo^ Grace, — I found my Lady
Duchess uneasy in her mind upon yo"^ Grace's going
out of Town ; saying that yo*" Grace had not only
denyed her some requests, but was gone without
taking yo"^ leave or biding her farewell. In this
uneasy humour her Gr. still seems to continue, wch
though it puts me into no fears of great consequence
yet it is apt to bring her usual pain upon her stomach,
and diminish her appetite. Her Gr. knows nothing
of my writing. But I thought it my duty to acquaint
yo"^ Gr. with what I do observe, and to submit it to
yo"" Grace's consideration wether a kind Leter from
yo"" Grace may not do well : For I have oftener then
once known yo'' Gr. win greatly upon her affections,
and give satisfaction to her Requests even when you
have not found it expedient to grant them. By this
means she may be induced to think well of a Hous of
her own, either at ye Cockpit or New Hall. And I
do assure yo"" Grace I had much rather she were at
New Hall then at Hempstead ; and I can send the
minerall waters and other medicins with as much or
more ease to Chelmsford within a mile of her own
hous, then to Hempstead.' ^
Of the Duchess's pursuits we catch a glimpse in
Dr. Barwick's letter of September 2, 1684 :
* Her Gr. Does sometimes make use of her Saddle
Horses when ye wether is good, but I think with a
great deale of Care and Caution. I tell her how much
I am concerned in it, as well as her Grace, to be able to
give a satisfactory account to my Lord Duke. I con-
fess I went upon that Command between yo*" Graces
with great alacrity and satisfaction to myself, when I
found so much unusuall affection on both sides as that
1 Montagu House MSS.
174 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
neither my Lady Duchess would use her Sadie Horses
without yo^ Grace's full approbation, as well as a
promise not to be angry, allthough she had a great
desire to it ; and that ye only reason why yo"" Grace
struck a while at a full approbation was for fear she
should take harm,' ^
The vagaries of his wife at last brought Albemarle
into a difficult position at Court. Some contre-
temps over a lodging at Whitehall seems to have
taken place this autumn. Whether the injury to the
Duchess's reputation on appearing at Whitehall with-
out her Lord was a figment of her poor sick brain or a
reality does not appear. Dr. Barwick gave the Duke
the first intimation of the perturbation of the Duchess
and the news of her removal to Hampstead in a letter
dated November 2, 1684 :
' I had a Command from my La. Duchess this after-
noon to wait upon her Gr. whom I found in a fit of
an Ague wch had been long upon her, but then was
decHning. Her Gr. is now at Hamstead ; and says
she had a short fit the last night she lay in York
Buildings. But I found her Gr. full as much troubled
in her thoughts as with her Ague. She tould me she
had been much misreported to the King, as if yo""
Gr. knew nothing of the Lodgings that were taken for
her at Whitehall, and upon that misinformation the
K. had sent the Usher of the Black Rod to put a stop
to that mater. Her Gr. says she does not value the
Lodgings, but is in a very great concern how to get
right in the King's opinion, and commanded me to go
to S^ R. Derham to ingage him to write to yo"^ Grace
about it, she not being in a condition to write herself
at present. But S"" R. Derham not being to be found
at home I take this boldness upon me, though I had
no command from her Gr. for it. And I do humbly
beg of yo*" Gr. to write to some freind near his Ma*'^
to set my La. Duchess right with the K. in this mater,
and that yo"" Gr. will be pleased to own her in it.
1 Montagu House MSS.
i684] A LODGING AT WHITEHALL 175
For I see her Gr. in so much trouble about it that I
fear it may do her harm in the condition she is in at
present by reason of her Ague, and her affliction of
mind unless yo^ Gr. be pleased to give her some speedy
assistance in it. I hear it will not be long before
yo"^ Gr. returns, but perhaps not so soon as this business
seems to me to require your tender regard and wonted
goodness to her. I do not find she has any fondness
at all for the Lodgings but for her honour only.' ^
Later in the month the Duchess wrote to her
husband on the same subject. He had left unan-
swered an earlier letter, but in the urgency of her
affairs she decided to overlook the neglect :
' My Deare Lord, — I am sorry I am not worthy
of an ancer from you. I would have forborn trouble-
ing you now but that I think my repetacion lyes at
y® last stake if you for Bare to be les kind then you
used to be. I b(es)eech you, when you see y^ King,
spake but what you sade to me consarning ye logins
that you inten(d)ed to wate in them as you know you
tould me ; if you omit this, consider what reflecs opon
me makes you suffer soe fare never to be re pared.
Theire are many that think you have had a Great
Deale of roung will emagin, if you should say any-
thing but what I beg, you care not for repetacion, all
my Freind(s) Hope You will allways be a man of
Houner to me and never neckleck me and beleves you
will geit this Houses that has being ye cause of all this
bussell. I am, your DutyfuU Wife,
* E. Albemarle.' ^
The following letter from the Duke of Newcastle
relieved the situation :
* May it please your Grace, — I received a letter
this post from my Lady Eliz : Pierrepont (the Aunt
of the Duchess of Newcastle) wherein her La?^ (?)
is pleased to lett me know my House at Clarken-well
may be usefull to your Grace ; I most humbly assure
^ Montagu House MSS.
* Montagu House MSS., November 24, 1684.
176 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
your Grace you are most wellcome to it and to make
use of it as long as you please and I take it for a great
Honnor your Grace will make use of it. There is
some goods in ye House. I wish they weare better,
they are all at your Grace's service.' ^
Newcastle House was no longer in a fashionable
neighbourhood, and so had been partly dismantled
by its owners. The Duchess of Newcastle, of more
practical mind than her husband, rehearses its in-
conveniences as a residence in a letter to the Lady
Elizabeth Pierrepont :
'WeLLBECK, Nov. the 2C)th, 1684.
* Madam, — I most humbly thanke you for yours
of the 24th and am most redy to lend my Lord Duke
of Albemarle and my Daughter Newcastle House for
what time they Please to make euse of it, and am most
glad at my hart and soul that it can any way conveni-
ance them. I am sory it stands soe ill and in noe
sweeter a Place and is so unquiat, the Bells ^ beeing
soe neere it, and that I have not better furneture
espeshally that I have not a good bed to set up for
them, but as it is, and what it has, thay are most
hartyly wellcome to it and I w^ll write this Post to
Jerrimiah and Alice to gett it as well redy for them as
they can which I am sure they will doe againest what
time thay apoynt them. I most humbly thanke you
for writeing this to mee since Betty did not write
herselfe, a desier soe easeyly granted I am with all
Duty and affection your La?^ most obedient Neece
and humble seruant, Newcastle.
* My 2 deare Gerles most affectionate Duty and
humble seruice to you.' ^
A month later the Duke of Newcastle writes :
' I most humbly thank Your Grace for honouring
us by making use of my house in Clarken-well.'
^ Montagu House MSS. Henry, Duke of Newcastle, to Albemarle.
^ The bells of St. James's Church, Clerkenwell.
^ Montagu House MSS. Frances, Duchess of Newcastle, to Lady
Elizabeth Pierrepont.
i684] A BLEAK YEAR 177
So we may imagine the Duke and Duchess of Albe-
marle safely established at Newcastle House, and
York Buildings as well as Whitehall seeing little of
them.
Whether on account of the vagaries of the Duchess
or for some other reason, Albemarle was decidedly
out of favour all through the bitterly cold winter
of 1684. Perhaps the King's renewed interest in
Monmouth may explain this. According to the
Venetian Ambassador, Monmouth was secretly in
London in December, and had an interview with his
father. He certainly carried on an uninterrupted
correspondence with the King through the medium
of Lord Halifax.^ Only one favour to Albemarle is
recorded for this twelfth month — a grant to hold two
fairs at Rotherhithe, which might augment his in-
come in a small way.^ He also had the honour to
be one of the commissioners appointed to install
Prince George of Denmark as Knight of the Garter.
But in comparison with the brilliancy of former times,
this year proved bleak indeed.
' Thus the cedars at Court are as liable to change
as we shrubs,' his cousin Bernard Grenville laughs,
not without a shade of malice.^
^ Ranke, History of England, vol. iv. p. 197.
* Lysons' Environs of London, p. 612.
3 Hist. MSS. Com., sih Report, Sutherland MSS. Letter of Bernard
Grenville to W. Leveson Gower, p. 186.
CHAPTER III
However, an event was impending which would
somewhat alter the aspect of Albemarle's affairs.
During the preceding year King Charles had given
evidence of failing health. Yet the symptoms were
little heeded by those about him, and his departure
from his usual geniality of manner was attributed to
political cares. Therefore, when Mr. Evelyn visited
Whitehall on the evening of February i, he little
thought that he viewed his King sitting for the last
time amid the surroundings which had marked the
reign and characterised its Court. He later wrote in
his diary a picture of that evening :
' I can never forget the inexpressible luxury and
profaneness, gaming, and all dissoluteness, and as it
were total forgetfulness of God (it being Sunday
evening) . . . which I was witness of, the King
sitting toying with his concubines, Portsmouth,
Cleveland, and Mazarine, a French boy singing love
songs in that glorious gallery, whilst about twenty of
the great courtiers and other disolute persons were at
Basset round a large table, a bank of at least 2000 in
gold before them,' ^
During the evening the King complained of illness,
and early next morning to the consternation of his
attendants he fell into a fit, from which he was revived
with difficulty. The ministers of state, in this un-
expected crisis, had many plans to put in motion to
safeguard the kingdom and their own interests.
1 Evelyn, Diary, Februar}- 4, 168;;.
178
i685] THE DEATH OF KING CHARLES 179
From Whitehall Palace at four o'clock that same
Monday afternoon Lord Middleton wrote to Albe-
marle telhng him of the King's illness, and giving hope
of his recovery. ' I dout not,' wrote he, * you will
give all necessary orders for your Deputy-Lieutenants
and Justices of the Peace to prevent disorders arising
from false reports,' and he adds a postscript desiring
him to send his orders by express that night.^ Prayers
were offered for the King's recovery in all the churches
by reverent throngs, while fourteen doctors used
every remedy which the knowledge of the time could
recommend. Another attack ended all hope of
amendment, and between eleven and twelve on the
morning of February 6 (1685) Charles ll. died very
peacefully. Privy Councillors and statesmen crowded
the ante-rooms and whispered among themselves the
story of how the King had died reconciled to the
Church of Rome.
Albemarle was not in the palace at the hour of
death. Summoned to a hastily assembled Council
meeting, he hurried to Westminster through the city
where the news was yet hardly abroad. Later in the
afternoon the proclamation of King James 11. was
sent forth, duly signed by Albemarle with others of
the Privy Council. It was a trying day for the new
King, and only late in the evening did he find time to
dispatch a private letter, written in a shaking hand,
to his * Sonne the Prince of Orange,' telling of his
accession.^
All the confusion caused by a change of kings and
the reorganisation of the Government filled the next
few days. On February 14, the body of the late King
was buried with his predecessors. The funeral is
1 Hist. MSS. Com., 15th Report, MSS. of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu,
p. 189.
* Letters of James 11. to William of Orange, S.P. Dom., King
William's Chest, vol. iv.
i8o THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
described as pitifully shabby, and contrasted oddly
with the magnificence of General Monck's. A rough
sketch in the Public Record Office shows :
Earls. Bodv. Earls
Chief Mourner.^
Duke of Somerset. Duke of Albemarle.
There were present at the burial all the Privy
Council, all the household, all the lords who were in
town. The body was placed in a vault under Henry
VII. 's Chapel at Westminster, without any pomp and
' soon forgotten after all this vanity,' while all the
great officers broke their staves over the grave accord-
ing to form. The fact that Iving Charles had acknow-
ledged his change of religion seems to explain the
austerity of his funeral, for how could the King con-
scientiously order a great ceremony of the Church of
England for one who died professing a different faith ?
A new atmosphere was at once noticeable at
Whitehall. Evelyn observed within a week of the
late King's death ' the whole face of the Court was
exceedingly changed into a more solemn and moral
behaviour ; the new King affecting neither profaneness
nor buffoonery.' What difficulty the courtiers found
in adapting themselves to the new regime, a contem-
porary gossip points out in a letter which reads :
* The King complains of the disorder in his house-
hold and that some had the impudence to come drunk
into the Queen's presence. This was thought to mean
the Duke of A.' ^
' Prince George of Denmark.
^ Strickland, Lives of the Queens of England, vol. iv. p. 512.
i685] CONTROVERSY WITH UNIVERSITY i8i
And at this late day suspicion points to the Duke of
Albemarle as the owner of that initial.
The days of mourning were spent in dignified
ceremonies. Evelyn, who was very much about the
Court at this time, tells of the envoys and great
persons who came from the neighbouring continent
to condole the death of the late King, and were re-
ceived by the Queen-Dowager on a bed of mourn-
ing, the whole chamber, ceihng and floor, hung with
black, and tapers lighted, giving a most lugubrious
and solemn effect. The Queen sat under a state
canopy on a black foot-cloth, to entertain the circle.
The prospect of another Parliamentary election and
plans for the coronation filled men's minds. Albe-
marle, still living at Newcastle House, took a deep
interest in both events. On February i8, i68i, he
wrote to Dr. Blythe, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, in
answer to a letter from that worthy scholar acquaint-
ing Albemarle with the design of the University Senate
to wait upon the King and declare their loyalty.
Great was the rivalry between the two seats of learn-
ing as to which should show the greater devotion
to the Crown. The Cambridge address, we may be
sure, was couched in the most resounding Latin, and
their Chancellor begged them to leave space that his
name might be among the signers. But on February
21 Albemarle writes in a sterner vein. The Uni-
versity was entitled to two burgesses to represent
them in Parliament. Their Chancellor considered
the naming of one of these gentlemen to be among his
perquisites. The University ignored his claim. He
writes more in sorrow than in anger, and patiently
explains the situation to their unheeding ears. No
less a person than Mr. Samuel Pepys was standing
for election at Sandwich. There seemed to be danger
that he would suffer defeat through complications
N
i82 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
brought about by the new charter. The King could
take no risk of losing so valuable a servant, and thus
early had made Albemarle promise that he would
give Mr. Pepys, Harwich, in case Sandwich proved
unappreciative.^ Now in his own mind Albemarle
had promised the place to his secretary, Mr. Arthur
Fairwell, his cousin's husband. So his next step was
to force his University to provide for this gentle-
man. A spirited correspondence tells the story.
The Chancellor was greatly disturbed. The Vice-
Chancellor was for the most part blandly silent,
although he refused to be coerced. Thus the battle
raged fiercely, and Albemarle through it all kept his
temper to perfection. No less than eight long and
eloquent letters of the Duke's are preserved in the
library of Clare College, Cambridge. A full copy
of one of them is also found in Bennet's Register
preserved in Emmanuel College. Bishop Bennet
adds a note to his document remarking * what was
the consequence of this strange letter I know not,
but Mr. Fairwell was certainly never chosen for
Cambridge.'
Between March 8 and 19, Albemarle with the Earl
of Oxford prepared to journey down to Essex to
proclaim King James 11. at Chelmsford. Before
going he summoned Sir John Bramston,^ now seventy-
two years old, to ask him to go down with him and
gave his reason. ' There wilbe,' says he, *a Parlia-
ment shortly, and you must be knight of the Sheire.'
Sir John being in pecuniary difficulty refused, and ex-
plained that unless a certain pension were paid to
which he felt he had a claim, he could not afford to
1 Hist. MSS. Com., i^ih Report, Buccleuch MSS. Letters from Samuel
Pepys to the Duke of Albemarle, p. 341.
* Sir John Bramston, Deputy-Lieutenant for Essex. He left an
autobiography printed by the Camden Society, from which the follow-
ing conversations are quoted.
i685] A KNIGHT OF THE SHIRE 183
sit in Parliament. * Will you take my advice,' says he
(Albemarle), * Go to the Kinge yourselfe. I will send
to my Lord of Bathe to introduce you.' William
Chapman was instantly called and sent along with
the petitioner to Whitehall ; but owing to Bramston's
fear of offending Rochester, Albemarle's orders were
not carried out, and Bramston returned empty-handed
to the Duke. He, when he was told the stoiy, ' seemed
trubled as foreseeing they should be to seek of one for
knight of the Shire.' So Bramston * went not the
journey.' At Chelmsford the occasion of the King's
proclamation was made the opportunity for the
political leaders to plan their campaign. On his
return to Court, Albemarle reported the candidates
to be Sir William Maynard and Sir Thomas Fan-
shawe ; Sir John Bramston dechning. ' But,' says
he, ' he will be chosen at Maiden, for all the towne is
for him.' Sir John writes :
* This really greived me when I heard what was
sayd to the Kinge, because I had really intended
to be quiet. . . . But it haueing binn told to the
King that I might be chosen if I would, without
charge or truble, I feared his Majestic would be
displeased should I refuse to be Burgess, as I had
refused to be a knight.' So being assured that he
would meet with no opposition, against his better
judgment, old Sir John allowed himself to be per-
suaded. * But it fell out contraire to their and my
expectation,' said he. With him stood Sir Thomas
Darcy (' a Puritan bred and borne,' writes Bramston).
He was Albemarle's neighbour and choice. ' At the
day (of the election), his Grace came, and brought all
his friends and servants that were freemen with him.
Sir Thos. Darcie and I met at the towne's end ; the
bayliffs met at a little distance from the towne, and we
all walked together into the Inn. They continued in
opinion I should without doubt be chosen, nor did
I anything doubt it. Sir Thos. had noe interest of
i84 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
himselfe and soe told me ; he must rely on the D. of
Albemarle and myself. I was vex't tho' to find there
would be opposition.'
The opposition were detected in having * largessed
the free men,' and Bramston ' foresaw a charge which
he was troubled at.' But the Duke said, ' he would
beare a third.' How the wires were pulled in order
to bring in the friendless Sir Thomas is most naively
told. Popular Sir John had wisely saved half his
votes in case of disaster, and being safely in himself
called his adherents together and informed them how
greatly they would oblige his Grace by also returning
Sir Thomas. * His Grace caressed them, called for
wine and dranke to them, and they resolved they
would doe soe.' The opposition complained ' this
was caried by pure managment.' But the victors
took the accusation complaisantly, and prepared for
the election of knights of the shire at Chelmsford.
On the morning of the election ' some gentlemen,
some diunes, and a good many freeholders,' called for
Sir John Bramston to head the procession of Tories,
who * took horse neere the town,' and so rode in brave
array, joined by a greater crowd as they moved along.
Determining to go forth to meet the Duke at Newhall,
they passed in the middle of the town the opposing
candidates Mr. Mildmay and Mr. Luther, and were
pleased to see how many more riders were with their
own company, ' but they had a great rable on foot,'
but in those days the rabble had little value in an
election. So the proud Sir John forced the * rable '
to pass him on the roadside, and the rival companies
eyed each other.
* About midway to New Hall, we had a sight of
his Grace, soe wee divided, and made a lane for him
to pass, and then we joyned our companie to his, and
putt him in the head of us all. Quickly after we
i685] THE ELECTION AT CHELMSFORD 185
turned, came Sir Wm. Mainard and Sir Thomas
Fanshaw, whom his Grace tooke one on the right, and
the other on his left hand, and soe rode into the towne.
Wee and all our companie (I meane the horsemen, wee
left those on foot in the towne) followed, five on breast,
and soe rode up the towne and about the Cross downe
the towne on the other side ; and when we came to
Colchester Lanes our men were not all come into
the towne, soe his Grace and the companie stayd, to
let them goe by us ; and then came the Ld. Petre
over the Bridge, with a great number of gentlemen,
his kinsmen and tenants, and other freeholders, his
neighbours, 300, I think ; theire we closed with his
companie, and rode up the Towne and into the feild.
But Mr. Mildmay and his companie were upon the
Bench and in the Court, where the election was to
be. We tooke a round in the feild, and then lookt for
Mildmay, we not knowing he was on the Bench ;
but, understanding quickly where he was, the Duke
sent to the Sheriff to come and take a view of the
numbers, that he might judge where the majority was,
and that he would adjourne the Court into the feild,
and take the pole there if it were demanded. Which
beinge done, and the tables brought into the feild he
brought Mildmay into the feild with his companie,
which beinge done and the sunne shininge very hot,
the Sheriff adjourned the Court back again into the
Sessions House, and we rode up thither, and tooke
our places on the Bench and in the Court as neere as
could bee. The writ was read and the candidates
named, and the poll demanded by Mr. Mildmay.
The Sheriff askt the gentlemen if they were content
(with) his clerks whome he had appointed to take the
poll or not. They consented to his clerkes, and had
supervisers. He had appointed six to take the poll,
and as many to give the oaths (yet Mr. Mildmay
had two of his owne that tooke the poll). In regard
everey single freholder was to be sworne whether he
had 40s. freehold, and whether he had not voted
before (as was necessarie) was after a while added,
otherwise, there beinge soe manie writers and swearers,
here might be deceit. I did judge the poll would last
i86 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
2 or 3 days, and soe did the towne too, and had laid
in provisions of hay, etc. Accordingly, Mildmay
giveing out if he had fair play he would shame the
Duke and the gentlemen (but by the way let me note
here he kept not his word with his Grace ; for- he met
him not in the feild, for indeed he had very few horse,
and the riders pittiful fellows). About two of the
clock, I went of¥ of the Bench to gett a bitt of meate
and a cup of wine, saying to-morrow about that time
wee might guive a guess what would be the issue. I
was not gone about an hower and halfe, and when I
came back, had stayed a very little tyme, the business
was at a stand, and the Sheriff bid the cryer make pro-
clamation. I askt what was the matter. Why, says
the Sheriff, there are noe more to poll for Mr. Mildmay
and Mr. Luther. And Mr. Mildmay then comeing
on the Bench (for he had binn to refresh too, or to send
for his partee to come in) the Sheriff came to him and
askt what he should doe. Mr. Mildmay replyed,
make three proclamations, and if noebodycome I will
acquies. ... (I) advised them to make Proclamation
if there were any would guive vote for Mr. Mildmay
or Mr. Luther, that had not voted alreadie, they
would come in, or the poll wilbe closed ; . . . and none
comeinge the Sheriff demanded all the bookes from
the clerks. . . . Upon his view it appeared the
columns for Maynard and Fanshaw were full ; but
most of the others were not neere full. ... So he
declared that Sir William Mainard and Sir Thomas
Fanshaw were chosen knights of the Sheire by the
pluralitie of voices.' ^
The King, made bold by the first outburst of loyalty
attendant on his accession, determined to practice
his form of religion openly. Easter was approaching,
and he arranged to have Mass said in Westminster
Abbey to celebrate the day. One hundred and
twenty-five years had elapsed since the Roman rites
had been performed in this venerable pile, and James
summoned all the chief men of his Court to attend
^ Autobiography of Sir John Braiitston, passim.
i685] EASTER DAY 187
him in state on the occasion. Sunderland and
Godolphin were quickly compliant, but Rochester,
whose life does not lead one to suppose him par-
ticularly susceptible to the calls of conscience or the
niceties of theological distinction, remembered that
with all of his own following he figured as an up-
holder of the Established Church, and mindful of
his political necessities begged leave to spend the
holiday in the country. Ormonde and Halifax accom-
panied the King as far as the ante-chamber, carrying
out their parts to the limit that temporal jurisdiction
demanded. Albemarle from his childhood had been
a staunch supporter of the Established Church of
England, and we find him in Essex at Newhall, deaf
alike to the demands for his presence in London by
the Senate of Cambridge University, and the criticisms
of his regiment by the King. Lieutenant-Colonel
Edward Grifi'en had addressed the following letter to
him, and it was one well calculated to bring the Duke
quickly to London, with all his military pride aroused :
* The King last night gave order that he would see
his three troops of guards in Hyde Parke this morning.
I am sorry to tell your Grace that yours was so thin
I was ashamed of it, only six score and four in all ;
on calling the list, I found fifteen absent of whom no
good account could be given, so I have ordered them
all to the Marshal until I know your pleasure. The
King said publicly we were the weakest troop of the
three. He was pleased to exercise us himself, and
said we were good boys and did very well.' ^
But Albemarle obstinately remained out of town.
A man owning so much land as did Albemarle had
a great task before him to return to Parliament men
of the King's politics, if not of his religion, and this
duty would serve as sufficient explanation of his
1 Hist. MSS. Com., 15th Report, Montagu of Beaulieu MSS., p. 189.
i88 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
absence from Court. How to meet the demands of
Mr. Pepys for Harwich and fulfil the King's promise
to Sir Philip Parker for the Sandwich seat^ were
deeply perplexing problems, and Mr. Fairwell was still
without a constituency. At Clitheroe in Lancashire,
where he had great interest, disputes had arisen.
Albemarle had promised one seat to his own legal
adviser, Sir Thomas Stringer, and by request of the
King, Colonel E. Ashton was to occupy the other.
Just when all seemed to be going smoothly, news was
brought that Lord Derby, through one R. Kenyon,
had proposed the name of his brother, Mr. Stanley,
thus leaving Albemarle's candidate, Stringer, without
a seat.^ Heated letters immediately followed. R.
Kenyon is ' very much troubled,' but refuses to retire
Lord Derby's brother. Each feels sure of the King's
particular interest for his respective candidate, and
so the war of words went on.^ The ' Return of
Members of Parliament ' shows that Mr. Stanley was
triumphant and the Duke discomfited.*
The Tories had been much in the ascendency since
the discovery of the Rye House plot, and they were
at this moment strongly loyal to the new King, not
having as yet felt the weight of James's tyranny and
bigotry. By taking away the old charters of many
towns and giving new ones, influence was held almost
entirely by the King's adherents. ' Lord Bath,' says
Evelyn, * carried down with him (into Cornwall) no
fewer than fifteen charters, so that some called him
" the Prince Elector." '
Immediately after Easter, Albemarle hurried to
London to be ready to take his part in the Coronation
services. Gorgeous in his robes of state, he bore the
^ Hist MSS. Com., 15;/; Report, Montagu of Beaulieu MSS., p. 190.
^ Hist. MSS. Com., 14/A Report, Kenyon MSS., p. 179.
" Ibid., p. 178. « Vol. i. p. 553.
i685] THE CORONATION 189
sceptre and dove, walking directly before his
Sovereign, and on the left of St. Edward's crown
in the procession in the Abbey .-^ The Duchess was
sufficiently recovered to take her part in the cere-
mony. The King, ever economical, bought jewels
for his Queen with the money which should have
been spent upon the procession through the city, and
so chilled the loyalty of the citizens. Privy Council
meetings were numerous, and Albemarle was diligent
in his attendance, for after his lean year of disfavour
royal smiles were very precious.
^ Sandford, The History of the Coronation of James II. (in the Savoy,
1687).
CHAPTER IV
During the heat of the Essex elections Albemarle
was the recipient of the following reassuring letter
from Dr. Barwick :
'Mar. 31, 1685.
' May it please yo^ Grace, — This is only to
present my most humble duty, and to acquaint yo''
Gr. that my La. D. seemes to me to be in very good
health. Her Grace takes great satisfaction in Riding
and beleives herself much beter in health by it. I am
allways importunat with her Gr. to be very carefull
and cautious, and especially not to be out late, the
Night being lyable to so many misfortunes : And I
am assured both by herself and by her servants that
her Gr. is never out late, but rides out allways in the
morning to avoyd late howers. However I having
received some intimation by Mr. Chapman from yo*"
Gr. to oblige her to great Caution about riding I
thought it my duty to both yo"^ Graces to let her know
in a Leter writ yesterday with what tender care and
sollicitude yo'" Gr. was concerned for fear some mis-
fortune might befall her. Her Cough, horseness, and
sore throte are all perfectly gone. Her Gr. eat her
diner (I thought) indifferently well on Saturday, but
she tould me she eat much beter on Friday when she
was abrode. I wish yo"" Gr. ye same successe at
Maiden and other places in the service of ye Kng
and Country as you have had latly at Colchester and
Sanwich.' ^
The Duchess had many family matters with which
to occupy her thoughts. Her sister Katherine, whom
she had with so much difficulty taught to read, had
^ Montagu House MSS.
190
i685] THE DUKE AS A MATCHMAKER 191
lately married Lord Thanet. It was believed to be
a great match, and the family were correspondingly
pleased over the affair. The fourth of the Cavendish
sisters, Frances, had also married. Lord Glenorchy,
son of the first Earl of Breadalbane,^ was the husband
chosen for her. Lord Breadalbane, as a member of
the Scottish Privy Council, had visited London
before the Coronation, and was ' reputed the best
headpiece in Scotland' by those who knew him well.^
He had been a friend of General Monck before the
Restoration, so that it is the less strange to find his
son. Lord Glenorchy, recommended by Albemarle
to the Duke of Newcastle as a suitable husband for
the Lady Frances. The marriage was a sudden affair,
and the young lady's prospects were regarded as but
mediocre in comparison with those of her sisters. The
news of the match was not well received at Court,
and called forth the following letter of explanation
from the Duke of Newcastle to Lord Sunderland :
'Wellbeck, Ap.ye 21/8$.
* My Lord, — I receved ye Honnor of your LoP^ of ye
nth instant by my Lord Breadalbaine, last Wensday
and I begg of your LoP ye favor of acquainte his
Maj*'^ I am w'^ all humility thankefull to his Majt%
for takeing notes of my marrying a Daughter ; And
I humbly intreate your LqP to obHge me soe much as
to acquainte his Mag^^, I was an absolute stranger to
My Lord Breadalbaine tell I received your LoP letter,
and I have never inquired into his LoP esstate assure-
ing my selfe an esstate in ye Highlands in Scotland
afford very little money. My Lord Duke of Albe-
marle reccommended this marriage to me and his
Graces reccommendation and my Daughter being
willing to goe in to Scotland caused my consent,
otherwise I humbly assure your LoP^ I would never
^ Chiefly remembered for his connection with the massacre of
Glencoe.
* Correspondence of Colonel Hooke, Roxburghe Club (1870), i. 49.
192 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
have marryed a Daughter in Scotland. I am w*
great respect, My Lord, Your LoP most humble and
most obedient servS H. Newcastle.' ^
These explanations were presumably considered
sufficient, for early in May, when Parliament assem-
bled, the Duke of Newcastle made a journey to
London to attend and probably visited his daughter
Elizabeth at his own house in Clerkenwell. He and
Albemarle attended a Council meeting on May 15.
Lord Thanet and his bride came also to London,
and lodged in Lord Thanet's ' Mansion in Pall Mall,
which also had a frontage on St. James' Square.' ^
From thence Lady Thanet went to Court under the
guidance of her sister, the Duchess of Albemarle.
The Earl took occasion to write of his wife's em-
ployments to his mother-in-law at Welbeck. The
letter is of great length, but parts of it may be of
interest :
* Madam, — ... I think most of her (Lady
Thanet's) Relations and freinds have been with her
and I beleive are well pleased to see her, but she has
been Under that great misfortune of being dissapointed
by her Taylor to this day for her Goune, but this
night my Lady Dutchess her sister (Duchess of Albe-
marle) conducts her to Court w"^^ I find she w^ould be
well pleased was over. I find she has noe inclination
to Basset w'^^ is the way for Ladys to introduce them-
selves to favour there ; She contrives (conducts her-
self) I thank God very well, though formality and
impertinent cerimoney has kept her much at home ;
she has began to sett for her Picture to Cross, ^ w^^
he promises me shall be well done before I leave the
Towne ; and doubt^ not but to make it very like, for
^ S.P. Dom., James 11., vol. i. No. 21.
* Drake-Elliott, The Family and Heirs of Sir Francis Drake, vol. ii.
p. 78.
* L. Crosse, the miniaturist. A miniature of Lady Thanet at Welbeck
Abbey is beheved to be a copy of the portrait then executed by Crosse.
i685] A FINE-TONGUED COURTIER 193
I long to have It in my pocket when I am absent the
likeness of what I soe dearly love.' ^
The accession of King James offered fresh oppor-
tunities for petitioners, and Albemarle was constantly
besieged with letters praying for favours, the greater
number of them showing much similarity of char-
acter. However, he received one at this time which
for originality deserved preservation. William Finet,
once a domestic in the Duke's service, finds himself
in difficulties, and writes to his former master from the
Rules of the King's Bench :
' There is a verse in Martial's epigrams that Ille
dolet verl qui sine teste dolet. I may now say Ille
dolet vere qui sine veste dolet, being that I cannot suit
myself, in company with some gentlemen my fellow-
prisoners in this place. Moreover, such is my severe
fortune that the subsistance money I have will not
allow me both food and raiment. I was a domestic
once under your Grace's roof. If you please to
bestow on me at this time a livery for my old master's
sake of blessed memory, I shall think myself a person
of some fashion, and sooner forget my name than my
engagements to your Grace's favours, which, so multi-
plied, would engage the ungrateful to an acknowledg-
ment. I must confess your love hath been still more
manifested by the effects of your goodness than (by)
any desert of mine, but my pen must not run in such
a complimental strain least I gain the reputation of a
fine-tongued courtier and lose that of honest Will
Finet. ... I hope that your Grace may dispense for
two hours' space with the services of either honest
Mr, Chapman or Mr. Fountaine (both long In Albe-
marle's service), that I may drench my long beard
with two bumpers of claret to both your Grace's
healths and make his face cheerful who with the muddy
ale of Southwark is much put out of countenance.' ^
1 Welbeck MSS. Exhibits in Chancery proceedings touching the will
of Henry, second Duke of Newcastle.
2 Hist. MSS. Com., 15th Report, Montagu of Beaulieu MSS., p. 190.
194 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
Such a letter would bring to its recipient a moment
of pure laughter and of relaxation from the tension
felt, in these days, by men interested in the march
of events. Ominous rumours were abroad. Every
port was doubly guarded, every traveller scrutinised,
while the post brought frequent news of the arrest
of men w^hose soft white hands betrayed that their
coarse sailor clothes were but a disguise.
Outwardly the life at Whitehall was joyously self-
interested. The courtier's chief concern was centred
seemingly in the rise of favourites, and in speculation
as to who should hold places of honour and influence
about the new King ; for the Royal household beheld
many changes — Lord Bath was no longer Groom of
the Stole nor the Duke of Albemarle a Gentleman of
the Bedchamber.
CHAPTER V
All through this hot, dusty, rainless spring, while
caterpillars devoured the fruit-trees and old oaks
died,^ the new Court grew in briUiancy. This not-
withstanding that rumour had now become certainty
that those who formerly had upheld the Exclusion
Bill, and favoured the pretensions of the Duke of
Monmouth, were determined not to acquiesce in the
accession of King James, whom they continued to
name the Duke of York. The peace of the new
Sovereign and his ministers was profoundly disturbed,
and late in the spring of 1685 news from Holland of
the activities of the Duke of Argyll brought forth pro-
tests from James to the Prince of Orange. However,
these were unavailing, and the Scottish expedition
set forth to win their countrymen. A few days later,
tidings came that Monmouth had allowed himself to
be persuaded that his right to the English throne could
be maintained, and he had already taken ship after a
half-hearted opposition from the Dutch authorities.
On the first authentic information that an invasion
was impending, Albemarle made all speed to Devon,
where he had long been Lord-Lieutenant. Here at
last was the chance for military glory, of which he had
so long dreamed. His father's example shone bright
before him. The thought of failure was impossible
to George Monck's son. To raise the militia, arm
them, and strengthen the fortifications was his first
care, and he bent to the task with a will. The
^ Evelyn, Diary, May 24, 1685.
196 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
Duchess, a-quiver with feminine alarms, was left to
eat out her heart, alone, in Clerkenwell. Her letter
of June 4 shows her, forgetful of past domestic jars,
a prey to terrors in true wifely fashion ;
* My deare Lord, — Ye confusion I am in you will
eseyley emagin by Dayley ill nuses [news]. I have
not sleped all ye last night, my feares have incresed
Soe fast and with such Great reson. Deareist
cretuare, you will wonder at this letter foloeing ye
outher soe fast, excuses ye trouble I give you and
when you consider ye danger that is round you, you
will pardon me eseyar for being soe Tender ; did you
know my thoughts your love to me would mocion
you to Greeve for my present Torment. I am to
ignorant to advises and my Deare has to large share
of Jugment in ware matters to feare anything can
goe amis for want of condouckt, nether doe I think
you will be a rach [rash] ackter. God spare your life,
you will be as Great as your Good, I being for evner
Your affectionate Dutyfull Wife,
' E. Albemarle. ^
'Vf 4 of Jim. 1685.'
This letter should have reached Albemarle at his
headquarters at Exeter, where he had found the castle
in great disrepair. In a letter written June 10 to
Lord Dartmouth, he sensibly remarks that he thinks
it necessary to render the castle of Exeter fit to re-
ceive the arms of the county, which will be consider-
able when they are all brought together. Some money
was left by the late King for repairing it, and he
desires that Major Beckmann, or some other engineer,
may be sent to view the castle, so that the money may
not be spent in vain.^ But it was too late for such
preparations. The very next morning the Helderen-
bergh and its consorts sailed into the port of Lyme
1 Montagu House MSS.
2 Hist. MSS. Com., iith Report, Dartmouth MSS., June 10, 1685,
p. 124.
i685] THE LANDING OF MONMOUTH 197
Regis, bringing Monmouth and his fellow-conspira-
tors — Lord Grey, Ferguson, Goodenough, Wade,
Nellthorpe, and a Brandenburgher, Buyse by name.
There were only some eighty-five souls in his party,
perhaps three hundred pounds in money, and a scanty
supply of arms and ammunition. Well might they
exclaim in Parliament next session when reviewing
the events of that summer's rebellion : * If the King
of France had landed, what would have become of us.'
Monmouth knelt upon the beach to utter a prayer,
then, drawing his sword, led his party into Lyme. The
inhabitants received him handsomely, shouting, ' A
Monmouth, a Monm.outh, the Protestant Religion ' ;
while the blue flag of the adventurers was run up in
the market-place. Only the Mayor, Gregory Alford, a
firm Tory, posted off in a fine fright to summon the
King's troops. He reached the Duke of Albemarle
late at night, and poured forth a wild account of the
number of the invaders and his own narrow escape.
Had Albemarle at this moment followed his own
inclination and relied upon his own judgment, he
would have delivered a swift and telling blow to Mon-
mouth and brought the rebeUion to an inglorious end
at its very inception.^ Unfortunately, he listened to
the story of the Mayor of Lyme, and took council
with his officers of militia ; in consequence, instead of
marching to battle he sent dispatches to London.
These dispatches demanded reinforcements, for he
had only four thousand militia, and believed Mon-
mouth to have brought troops w^ith him from the
Continent. He was also aware that he could not
strike the invader until he came within the county
of Devon. Speedy replies from Lord Sunderland
remedied this difficulty.
^ Bramston states that Albemarle had explicit orders to remain in
Exeter and defend the county of Devon.
O
198 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
' Whitehall, /««s 13, 1685.
Duke of Albemarle.
* My Lord, — I received this morning two Letters
from y'' Grace both of the 12th Instant, in the first
whereof you give an account of the D. of Monmouth
being landed, of the Forces with him, which His Ma^'^
commands me to tell you are not near so great as the
Mayor of Lime has represented y"^ to you. And as
to the Detachment y'' Grace desires, His Ma^'^ has
commanded four Troops of Horse, and two Troops of
Dragoons and five Company's of Foot to march
immediately to Salisbury and to be assistant to the
Lard Lieutenants of the Countys thereabouts as His
Ma^'*^^ Service Shall require. They will be there on
Monday and Coll. Kirk with them.
' The King commands me to let you know y^ he
places an Entire Confidence in y'' Conduct and zeale
for his Service, and therefore leaves it to y"" discretion
to march with the Forces of the County, and to pro-
ceed in all things on this occasion, as you shall see
cause and judge it best for his service, and His Ma^'«
having authorized Several Lord Lieutenants to march
with the Mihtia out of the Countyes, I send enclosed
to y'^ Grace a letter by which His Ma^'*^ gives you the
same authority.
' I have acquainted his Ma^^^ w''' what you write in
yours of the 10^^^ for power to seize on all suspected
persons, \vhich His Ma^'*^ commands me to tell you, y^
as Lord-Lieutenent and Justice of the Peace you have
it already and therefore directs you to put it in
execution, on all such persons within the County. — I
am, My Lord, V Grace's, etc.,
' Sunderland.' ^
But next day Lord Sunderland sent more restrict-
ing orders :
' The King Commands me to let y'' Grace Know
y^^ He is sending Severall Troops towards you, w^^
will be soone withe you, and y' He thinkes fit y^ in y^
1 Letters relating to the Duke of Monmouth's RebeUion, June 13 to
July 21, 1685, S.P. Dom., James u., vol. ii. letter i.
i685] ALBEMARLE IN DEVONSHIRE 199
meanetime, as long as Ye D. of Monmouth Stayes
in Lyme, you Should forbear to attempt any thing
against him, Except upon great advantages. His
Ma^'^ would also have you endeavour by all meanes
to Keepe Stragling people from goeing to the said
Duke, and in Case he should march out of Lime
towards Taunton, or elsewhere into the Country, His
Ma'"^ would have you to attend his motions, and take
any fitting occasion to attack him, which His Ma''^
leaves to your discretion.' ^
This delay in striking the first blow may have been
a design on the part of the ministry to allow Mon-
mouth thoroughly to incriminate himself by calling
the people to arms against their lawful King. If so,
it was attended by serious results, for the Devon
militia, fiercely Protestant, now had time to consider
their position, and their hearts misgave them when
they daily beheld their friends and neighbours gather-
ing to the blue banner of the Duke of Monmouth. It
is clear from the letters written by the commanders
at the front to Sunderland that though they wished
to attack they feared to move without direct orders
from the King.
Meanwhile in London, on June 12, the Privy
Council proclaimed Monmouth traitor, and Parlia-
ment was not slow in confirming it. The King wrote
to the Prince of Orange on June 15, from Whitehall :
' I was this day at the Parliament in my Roabs
[Robes] to pass two money bills, two private ones and
another for attainting of the D. of Monmouth, and I
hope that in a few days he will not be in a very good
condition.' ^
The King's orders sent to the scene of war came too
late. For the same day that Monmouth was declared
^ S.P. Dom., James ii., 1685, vol. ii. letter 2,
3 S.P. Dom., King William's Chest. Letters of James 11. to William
of Orange.
200 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
traitor In London, and his proclamation burned by the
common hangman, he took up his march out of Lyme
toward the north. Albemarle, still in Exeter, well
advised of this intention, sent orders to his sub-
ordinate officers to join him in Axminster to head off
the march. Just what happened is variously told.
Lord Churchill,^ who was already in the west, and not
far from the scene of disaster, seems the most reliable
recorder. Writing to King James, he says :
' The Duke of Albemarle sent to Sir Edward
Phillips and Col. Lutterell, that he would be at
Axminster on such a day with some forces, and would
have them meet him there. So away marched these
two regiments, one out of Chard the other out of
Crewkern and when they came to the top of the Hill
within a half mile of the town, there came out some
country people, and said that the Duke of Monmouth
was In the Town ; At that one Capt. Littleton cried
out, " We are all betrayed," so the Soldiers immedi-
ately look at one another and threw down their arms
and tied, leaving their officers and colours behind ; half,
if not the greatest part, are gone to the Rebels. I do
humbly submit this to your Majesty's commands in
what I should do in it. For there is not any relying
on these Regiments that are left, unless we had some
of Your Majesty's standing forces to lead them on
and encourage them, for at this unfortunate news I
never saw people so daunted In my life. I have sent
away just now to the Duke of A(lbemarle) to send
4000 men to Crewkern and Chard, and that I will be
there as soon as I hear they are arrived.' ^
Oldmixon, a contemporary historian, was a very
little boy in Bridgwater at the time of the rebellion,
and he could only echo local tradition. He personally
favoured Monmouth's cause, or rather chose to extol
the rebellious men of his own county. He describes
* Afterwards the first Duke of Marlborough.
* Hist. MSS. Com., ^rd Report, Northumberland MSS., p. 97.
i685] THE FIGHT AT AXMINSTER 201
this little battle with some detail ; how both armies
planned to occupy Axminster that night, but Mon-
mouth reached the goal first, lined the hedges with
his rustics, 'planted his four little field pieces' and
awaited an engagement. Albemarle, as we know, did
not reach the neighbourhood until all was over, and
so had no opportunity to keep order among his militia,
who, Oldmixon announces, with great authority,
' marched off in great disorder and confusion.' ^
The truth seems to be that Albemarle, meeting the
fugitive regiments of Phillips and Luttrell, many of
whose men now proved themselves to be no enemies
to Monmouth by going over to his army, arms and
all, fell back to recover and to await dispatches
from Whitehall. So Monmouth passed by him to
Taunton to that pitiful triumph of waving banners,
and streets flower-strewn by sweet young school
girls, while the populace renewed again, for him,
the enthusiasm of those semi-royal progresses of his
former years.
Albemarle, having put some heart into his wavering
militia, more through his personal influence than their
own conviction, pressed on to Wellington to prevent
the enemy from turning toward the west. At the
same time, the regiment of Somersetshire Militia,
advancing to join those of Devon, failed even more in-
gloriously than had their neighbours. For, according
to Oldmixon :
* They had no sooner entered a narrow lane in their
way than, observing the mouths of two or three
hollow trees unluckily pointed to their front, they
immediately turned tail and fled, every man to
his own home, except such as staid for the Duke of
Monmouth's coming, and then went in to him.'
Indeed, it is said that the red and yellow uniforms of
^ Oldmixon, History of England under the House of Stuart , p. 701.
202 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
the men of Somerset were the ornament of the Duke
of Monmouth's army. Much writing of letters back
and forth between the Lord-Lieutenants of Mihtia
followed. Each begged the other to advance. The
Earl of Sunderland implored the Duke of Somerset
to join forces with Albemarle. In the meantime the
regulars had begun to arrive, and were giving back-
bone to the wavering militia.
On the 17th and i8th, the King quite naively writes
of his troubles to the Stadtholder :
* Through the fault of the militia bands of Devon
or Somersetshire the Rebels have opened their way
toward Taunton.' ^
While Albemarle at Wellington tried by every art
to encourage his men, the inhabitants of the old
Puritan town of Taunton were all unwittingly lead-
ing their adored Monmouth to his doom. Untrust-
worthy councillors had already advised him to cast
aside discretion and declare himself king. The cheers
of the populace, and now the sight of the waving
banners embroidered by the twenty-seven maids of
Taunton, more especially the largest of these, re-
splendent with gold lace and fringe and bearing on
its face a great 'J. R.' surmounted by a royal crown,
filled him with the vainglorious belief that he was
publicly recognised as the rightful heir to the throne.
He now took the decisive step, and caused himself
to be proclaimed king at the market-cross. He was
greatly surprised that no men of birth or consequence
had joined him. To remedy this need was his first
care. The Duke of Albemarle, but few miles distant,
holding to their duty with difficulty his weak-hearted
militia, seemed to Monmouth a hopeful subject for
overtures. He accordingly set for himself the task of
^ Letters of James 11. to William of Orange.
i685] SUMMONS TO ALBEMARLE 203
writing a letter calculated to win to his standard his
former rival and earlier friend.
* My Lord,' he wrote, * Whereas Wee are credibly
informed that there are some Horse and foot in Armes
under yo'" Command for James, Duke of Yorke, w'^'^
are purposely raised in oposicion to Us and Our
Royall Authority We have thought fitt to signifie to
you Our Ro^^all resentment and doe promise Ourselfe
that what you have transacted therein is through
Inadvertency and mistake, and that yo^ Grace will
take other measures when you have receivd this in-
formation of Our being proclaimed King to succeed
Our Royall Father lately deceased. Wee have therefore
sent this Messenger on purpose to intimate the Same
unto you, and it is our Royall Will and pleasure, and
We do hereby strictly charge and command you upon
Notice of the same unto you and receipt hereof to
cease all Hostilities and force of Armes against us and
all our loveing Subjects and that your Grace would
imediately repaire to Our Campe where you shall not
faill of Kind and Harty Reception from us. And in
default of the premises We shall be obliged to pro-
claime you and all those in Armes under your Com-
mand, Rebells and Tray tors and shall proceed against
them and you accordingly. Yett we assure Ourselfe
that yo"" Grace will pay reddy Obedience to Our com-
mand Wherefore Wee bid you heartily farewell.
' James R.
* To our Trusty and Well-beloved Cozin and Coun-
cellor Christopher, Lord Duke of Albemarle.' ^
Albemarle's ire on receiving this summons brought
^ Of this letter there are three contemporary copies. Two are in the
British Museum. The first, Harl. MSS. 7006, fo. 95, endorsed in
Lord Clarendon's handwriting, has on the back a list of Monmouth's
commissioned officers and tlie names and prospects for fines of the
' Maids of Taunton.' It may have been used as a memorandum at a
council meeting. The second. Add. MSS. 19,399, fo. 140, is followed
by what is probably Albemarle's copy of his reply, as it is headed ' My
answer.' The third is in the possession of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu.
A reproduction of the last-named is shown in Arthur, Story of the
Household Cavalry.
204 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
forth a reply which stated his position in no uncertain
words :
* I have received Your Lre and doe not doubt but
you would use mee very kindely if you had me, and
since you have given y^^'self the trouble of invitacon
this is to lett you know that I never was and never will
be a Rebell to my Lawful King, who is James the
Second, brother to my late Dear Master, King Charles
the Second. If you think I am in the wrong and y°'
Self in the right, whenever we meet I doe not doubt
but the Justice of my Cause shall sufficiently con-
vince you, that you had better have lett this RebeUion
alone, and not to have put the Nacon to so much
truble. Albemarle.' ^
He wrote the direction ' For James Scott, late Duke
of Monmouth,' and hastily dispatched it by the same
trumpeter who had served as Monmouth's messenger.
Then, bethinking himself that news of this transaction
would be early received in London, he wrote, still
under the influence of strong excitement, to Lord
Sunderland in this wise :
' Wellington, /««^ 21, 1685.
* My Lord, — Nothing considerable has passed Since
my last to y"^ Lord?', My Lord Churchill has not yet
joyned me, and having noe order to attack the enemy
without him would not attempt it ; if it had been
done when I first desired it, I believe the Rebels would
have mett with some defeat before this time ; the
enclosed letter I received last night, was from the late
Duke of Monmouth, which I have sent with my answer
annexed to it, I am, Y"" Lord^P most humble Servant,
' Albemarle.' ^
With this he enclosed Monmouth's letter and a copy
of his own reply written upon the enclosing sheet of
Monmouth's, and still bearing the address and seal.
This letter to Albemarle and his proclamation at
1 Brit. Mus., Harl. MSS. 7006, fo. 195.
* Brit. Mus., Add. MSS. 19,399, fo. 138.
i685] APPREHENSIONS OF THE DUCHESS 205
the market-cross of Taunton finally cut off Mon-
mouth from hope of pardon.^ Albemarle received
compliments from the King on his action, while
Monmouth's letter, which was widely copied and
sent about the country, aroused the mirth of courtiers.
Lord Moray wrote to the Marquis of Queensberry
concerning it :
^June 22nd, 1685.
' The late Duke of Monmouthe has now the im-
pudens to acte as Kinge. He has urytin [written]
a letter to the Duke of Albemarell beg[in]inge it —
Right trusty and wel-belovd Cusin and Counceler,
and concluds it — From our Camp at Taunton ; but
cals him his Grace in some parts of it, so that he hes
not yet learnd the Style. . , . The Kinge is extremly
harast.' ^
In truth, every one connected with the rebellion
was harassed. The Duchess suffered from appre-
hension, both political and personal, and she poured
forth her fears upon paper :
* My deare Lord, — I am exstremley troubled at ye
difarant storryes, I ouarely heare, but that which
desturbs me most [is] to find soe meny roueman
Catheleeks gon to you ; for God sake find a way to
have them retourn for feare of loseing your interist.
Heven spare your life, for I have leved in such pane
sences you went that tis imposable for my Deare
master to emagin. — Yours for evuer most Dutyfulley,
' E. Albemarle.
'K? 19 ofjun. 1685.' 3
^ Among these manuscripts in the British Museum is a curious note
explaining the fate of most of the correspondence relating to this rising.
King James on his flight out of the country in 1688 confided the papers
to Bishop Spratt, who on his death bequeathed them to a nephew. The
widow objected, and after certain litigation the nephew burned them
rather than restore them to Mrs. Spratt.
2 Hist. MSS. Com., i5//j Report, Buccleuch MSS. at Drumlanrig
Castle, p. 80.
3 Montagu House MSS.
206 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
The chief cause of the Duchess's anxiety lay in
the association of her husband with the young Duke
of Berwick, the son of King James and Arabella
Churchill, who had been reared in his father's faith.
Although only fourteen years of age, he had ' en-
treated to be allowed to serve under Christopher,
Duke of Albemarle, against his unhappy cousin.' The
King was naturally unwilling to grant his request,
but his importunities eventually prevailing, the Duke
of Albemarle was directed to receive him as his aide-
de-camp, but with strict orders to watch over his
safety, and guard him from unnecessary peril. ^ This
boy foreshadowed his subsequent brilliant military
career by more than one feat of daring during this
rebellion, and must have proved an added source of
anxiety to his commanding officer.
Another drawback to Albemarle's comfort lay in
the fact that some of his most trusted officers were
unable for one reason or another to be with him. John
Sydenham, who had served for many years in the
militia, and had written many a dutiful letter to his
Lord-Lieutenant, thus explains his absence :
'ExON.,/««^ the 23, 1685.
* My Lord, ... In the afternoone as I was taking
horse I was taken prisiner by an unusall base vulger
enemy Cawled the Gowte ; last night I thought by
a vomitt to have shifted my selfe from him, but hee
is still very troublesum to mee, the torment of my
mind afflickes mee more then the distemper, that I
should be absent from your Grace at A time of Tryall,
when Duty and Affection Commands my Attendance
and the best of my performanses. I will take Ruffe
mesurs to free my selfe of it. If not, I will troope
with one Boote and one Gambads^ in your Grace's
* Jesse, Memoirs of the Court of England during the Stuarts, vol. iv.
p. 484.
* Gambado : a large boot fixed to the saddle of a horseman to protect
the rider's foot and leg. Used instead of a stirrup.
i685] THE LORD-LIEUTENANTS 207
servise. I wish your Grace health, happinesse, pre-
servation and victory Against all your Enimise which
shall ever be the prayers and well wishes of Your
Grace's Most Devoted humble ser.,
' Jo. Sydenham.
' All y"^ obedient Servants here are very vigilent in
there Duties and F^^ [letters] here fly as thick as
natts.' 1
Meanwhile panting couriers covered all the roads
leading to the capital, where great dissatisfaction
reigned. The King could not or would not under-
stand the attitude of the militia, who everywhere in
the west failed him. He ascribed to disloyalty and
cowardice what was really due to profound religious
conviction. The militia would not fight in the cause
of a Roman Catholic king against a Protestant pre-
tender. Certain regiments having been recalled
hastily from Holland, the king was able to send the
regular troops from London to the front. These well-
disciplined men, he believed, could be depended upon
to be without personal convictions, and to fight
valorously for the hand that paid them.
The King now went so far as to distrust his Lord-
Lieutenants, and he proceeded to create a commanding
general, who should take rank above any one of them.
For this place he chose a foreigner, Louis Duras, Lord
Feversham. He was a nephew of the great Turenne,
but was himself a man who thought of little beyond
eating and sleeping. The first intimation of this
change of authority came to Albemarle in another
letter from his wife, who saw in this discomfiture to
her husband an opportunity for his speedy return to
her:
' My deare Lord, — I am ouver Joyed to know by
won that comes from you that your well ; the asure-
^ Montagu House MSS.
208 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
ances of your safety and helth is the Greatist happynes
I can poses, and I hope I can Bare all misfortiunes
with eses soe your out of Danger. I am in Som hopes
I shall see my Deare soon, being the King has noe
sorvis for you and his Magistyes think fiting ^ to put
thouses ouver you you have soe long coman(d)ed,
which is my Lord ferfuersham and Churchill, too much
beloe you in evuery surkamstance [circumstance] as
to exspreuances [experience].
* Deare love, save your mony and lesen not your
Greatnes, which you full understand without my
advises. — You(r)s most Dutyfully,
' E. Albemarle.
' Ve 23 ofjun. 1685.' 2.
Lord Churchill finally joined Albemarle with the
long-expected reinforcements, but Monmouth was
gone to Glastonbury. Churchill pursued, while Albe-
marle occupied Taunton and busied himself with
pulling down Monmouth's manifestoes, some of them
declaring Albemarle himself a traitor. When for-
warding these to Whitehall, he wrote to Sunderland :
' Taunton, ///w 23, 1685.
* My Lord, — I came hither this night, where I
founed these several proclamations w'^^ I send to your
LoPP only for your diversion, — I am, My Lord, Yo*^^
LoPP most humble servant, Albemarle.' ^
The wave of Monmouth's success had now passed
its crest. To the west Albemarle held firm, on the
north and east the Duke of Beaufort and the Earl of
Pembroke hemmed the rebels in. Across Salisbury
Plain advanced the regulars, and behind them were
forming the militia of more loyal counties. He pressed
on to Wells, where his followers desecrated the beauti-
ful cathedral. Frequent small affrays with troops led
by Churchill and Oglethorp resulted in great losses to
^ The Duchess probably intended to write ' thinking fit.'
• Montagu House MSS. ^ Brit. Mus., Harl. MSS. 7006, fo. 193.
i685] ALBEMARLE SECURES LYME 209
the rebels. The torrents of rain which fell here,
leaving the rest of sun-scorched England untouched,
made the roads nearly impassable to his weary
followers. When they met the enemy their primi-
tive weapons forced upon them a realisation of the
great disadvantage under which they laboured.^
Monmouth himself was too experienced a soldier not
to perceive his own predicament. If he meditated
flight, he was held to his duty by the pitiful condition
of those who had sacrificed their all for him. Un-
certain where to go, he turned back to Bridgwater,
where, from the church tower, he beheld some twenty-
five hundred regular troops and five hundred Wiltshire
militia encamped and awaiting his attack. Macaulay
has described with what melancholy reflections Mon-
mouth viewed those Foot Guards whom he had once
commanded.
In these days Albemarle was still receiving com-
plimentary letters from Lord Sunderland, and he
had returned to Exeter to carry out the King's in-
structions. He had secured Lyme, both the town
and the shipping — for Admiral Herbert had come by
sea to his support.^
His orders were to hang out of hand, without trial,
all who had proclaimed Monmouth king, a measure
with which Albemarle seemed very loth to comply,
until assured by the King that ' having consulted
those most able in the Law ' ^ his authority to exer-
cise military justice was unquestioned. Letters came
every day from Lord Sunderland commenting favour-
ably upon Albemarle's plans, urging him to even
greater efforts to prevent the rebels from securing
provisions and horses, and always ending with a sigh
^ See the scythe used by Monmouth's rebels preserved in the Tower
of London.
2 Ranke, History oj England, vol, iv. pp. 255-6,
* S.P. Dom., James 11., vol. ii. letter u.
210 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
for the untrustworthy state of the mihtia who, headed
by the Duke of Grafton, had continued their in-
glorious habit of running away from the invaders.
The soHcitude of the Duchess redoubled as the
dangers thickened round her Lord.
' P 31 ofjun. (1685).
* My deare Lord, — I beg to heare very often ; if
you hope I shall ever sleep, from any boddy about
you.
' To heare your alive is some satisfackcion, but when
I consider ye dangere your in, ye worst freind I have
will Pitty me ; this last nuses which is come covers
me with continuall feares of foul play which all most
gives me a despare of never seeing you more ; if that
sad fate seseis me I pray to God to have such mersey
for his poore servant as to give but won bloe to us
bouth for I love you to well to parte with you at les
esey termes then such a desire desarves. Your soe
Good and soe Deare to me that noe outher thoughts
then theses can posable have an exses. I am full of
a troubled Tendernes and have good reson upon a
thounthen [thousand] skores which I doe not Dout
but you will allways beleve from your affectionate
Dutyfull Wife, E. Albemarle.' ^
Another letter explains the absence of a recruit
upon whom his General certainly could have relied.
• Weston, //c/k 5°, '85.
' S'', — On ffryday was fortnight last I pray'd ye
King's License that I might discharge my allegeance
to his Maj^'*^ and my duty to yo"" Grace ; and in order
thereto ye next Morning I rec'^ ye Lord Sunderland's
Pass to Secure me into ye West, and brought my
Sword in one hand and my heart in ye other, with a
Resolucon to sacriiize ye latter rather than part w^'^
ye former, and have bin ever since that time labouring
to bring mysclfe under yo"" Grace's command. . . .
^ Montagu House MSS.
i685] SEDGEMOOR 211
Wee are now w^^in three Miles of the Enemy and
should I at this juncto leave ye Army, they would
undoubtedly condemne me of Cowardice, and judge
that w'^^ is truely my Zeale to serve yo"" Grace, to be
a bare shift or p^tense to wigle (sic) myselfe out of
danger ; and I heartily pray y^ Perkin (Monmouth)
may Steare his Course towards yo"* Grace, y^ yu may
have the Greatest share in ye Hon^ of his distruccon,
and y^ the aspiring hopes of some may be defeated,
who designe it undeservedly for themselves. And y'
my Good Starr (if any danger be levell'd at yo*" Grace)
may fix me as a small peice of approved Armour to
sheild yo^ Grace from all the designed or Random
shotts of a Rebellious Enemy, And may I noe longer
know my owne name, or the true valine of a ffreind,
then I will in the worst of dangers approve myselfe
yo'' Grace's Most unworthy yet most ffaithfull and
obedt humble servS Fulke Grosvenor.' ^
Fulke Grosvenor's martial hopes for Albemarle
were doomed to disappointment. That very night
of July 5, under a sky brilliant with moonlight and
flaming northern lights, Monmouth's silent army
crept under cover of a low-lying mist from the morass
of Sedgemoor to surprise the cider-befuddled army
of the King. How the guide proved untrustworthy,
the surprise failed, and, deserted by their leaders, the
brave peasants fought on until overcome by artillery,
are matters of history. The morning's sun found the
army scattered, and Monmouth and his companions
disguised and fugitive.
That very morning, long before the joyful news of
the rebellion's end could reach London, Lord Sunder-
land had penned three letters to send to the west.
The first was to Albemarle. The flattering words
of its opening phrases would hardly soften the blow
^ Montagu House MSS. Monmouth is spoken of as Perkin in allusion
to Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English throne in the reign of
Henry vn.
212 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
of the next lines. It but officially confirmed what
had been, for a week or more, gossiped about the
camps :
' Whitehall, /«/y 6, 1685.
' His Ma*'^ commands me to acquaint your Grace
that Hee is very well satisf^-ed with the good Services
you have done, and the Orders and Directions you
have given for preserving that County and the Peace
and Quiet thereof, being a matter of the Greatest
importance at this time. . . . The King having
thought fett to constitute the Earl of Feversham
Lieutenant-Generall over all His Forces, whereby
all Lord-Lieut*^ are to obey him, His Ma*'« would have
yo*" Grace accordingly observe such Orders as the said
Earl shall give or Send you, which His Ma*'^ thinks
absolutely necessary for His Service, and does not
therefore question your complyance with His Pleasure
in this as you have done in all other things.' ^
As an added thorn in the side of the already goaded
Albemarle, Sunderland sent this letter to Feversham
to read before it should be passed on v/ith the new
General's orders.
Lord Bath, who had been joined with Albemarle in
the command at Exeter, received Lord Sunderland's
second letter. Its purport shows how apprehensive
were the authorities as to Albemarle's acquiescence
in this matter. Sunderland remarks :
* It is impossible to give advice at this distance, but
the Duke of Albemarle will receive Directions from
My Lord Feversham, and the King does expect he
should act accordingly, which I am sure will bee best
done, if so good a friend as your LordP* is, can be near
him.' 2
How great was the blow may be realised when it
is remembered that Albemarle's own First Troop of
Life Guards was with Feversham and under his direct
* S.P. Dom., James 11., vol. ii. letter 10. 2 Ibid., letter 11.
i685] ALBEMARLE'S UNBENDING SPIRIT 213
command, while Albemarle wasted his days with the
reluctant Devonshire militia. Nor was he alone in
his wrath. The same express brought Sunderland's
third letter to Lord Churchill, and a commission
creating him Major-General. This would have been
appreciated at any other time, but was galling to
a man who not only felt his great superiority to
his commanding general, but who had just won
the battle of Sedgemoor while this same commander
lay in his tent stupid with cider.^ That Feversham
had awakened in time leisurely to adjust his cravat
and come forth in state to receive all the plaudits
of victory did not tend to endear him to Churchill.
But he dissembled his wrath. He could afiford to
await his triumph on far greater fields than this
trivial invasion offered. To Albemarle this was an
only chance. His proud spirit refused to bend and
his punishment was close at hand.
He lingered on in the west as long as the militia
was needed. But the bloody work of gathering in
the guilty rebels was intrusted to sterner hands than
his. Kirke's Lambs, schooled in Tangier, could be
depended upon to be guiltless of human feeling.
The horrors of that summer in the West of England
moved to remonstrance many a harder heart than
Albemarle's. On July 12, he was still in Devon,
perhaps comforted to be out of London, where
Monmouth, a pitiful captive, was pleading in vain
for his life. On this date the Duchess wrote :
* My deare Lord, — Your kind letter was very
wellcom to me and Jo. ffontane came heare to-day to
tell me my Deare love is well, but no sertanty of being
blesed with your presances which is as much desired
1 London Gazette, August 3, 1685, ' The Battle of Sedgemoor : A
Farce.' It was written by the Duke of Buckingham, and was designed
to cast ridicule upon ' the General who had won a battle in bed.'
P
214 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
as a pachion can force ; to be from what won loves
is fare from being esey, which you will beleve knowing
how often I have reseved favers and indearements
from your Justis and and (sic) True affection which I
will always indever to ancer with all greatatued and
fauthfull love that you can emagin from your Duty-
full Wife, E. Albemarle.
' Ve 12 of/ufy 1685.' 1
This, for the time, was Albemarle's last letter from
his wife, for the rebellion having lasted barely three
weeks had come to an end. On July 15, Monmouth
was beheaded on Tower Hill, making a courageous end
strangely at variance with his behaviour during his
last days. If Albemarle remembered the horrid scene
of Lord Russell's death, he would make no haste
to return to London until the execution was over.
Toward the end of the month he was once more
established with the Duchess at Newcastle House,
where, having ungirded his sword, he was prepared
to occupy himself with the peaceful affairs of his
University.
1 Montagu House MSS. Albemarle's answers to these letters do not
appear to have been preserved.
CHAPTER VI
Newcastle House was a sombre, monotonous brick
structure, having its upper windows adorned with
stone pilasters. The east and west wings stood
forward, and there was a large courtyard in front.^
It had been built on the site of a nunnery which, at
the dissolution, had come into the possession of the
Cavendish family. Here was to be found the Duke
on the morning of July 30, penning a letter to the
Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, recommending that
one Bancks should receive the degree of Doctor of
Divinity.^ This duty well performed, Albemarle
could give himself up to the enjoyments of a quieter
life. The terrors of war had brought him and his
Duchess closer together than they had been for many
a year. He was, it is true, deeply chagrined at the
behaviour of the militia under his command, while
the advancement of Feversham filled him with rage.
To his own haughty behaviour in this connection
he gave little thought. His world looked bright
that summer's day. The large garden contained
six arches of the nun's cloister. These, with their
beautifully carved ceilings, made a delightful and
shady retreat from the sun's heat. Perhaps it was
here that Sir John Bramston, Deputy-Lieutenant
of Essex, ' happened to be present with his Grace,' ^
1 Thornbury, Old and New London, vol. ii. p. 332.
* Letter to Dr. Blythe in possession of Clare College, Cambridge
University.
» Autobiography of Sir John Bramston, p. 205.
216
2i6 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
when Albemarle's copy of the letter sent to all the
Lord-Lieutenants was delivered ; it was written at
the King's command by Lord Sunderland. * The
Duke perused it,' and this is what he read :
* The King commands me to acquaint your Lord-
ships that he would have you give order for an
estimate to be forthwith made of the expense of keep-
ing up the Militia within your Lieutenancie as lange
as by law they may be kept to geather in one yeare,
and to transmit the same forthwith to me.'
Even a less discerning eye than Albemarle's could
perceive that the King was intent on a standing army,
and was gathering statistics to present to Parliament
when it should sit. This letter the Duke delivered to
Bramston to act upon, with the remark, * We must not
undervalue it.' Bramston replied :
* We must not overvalue it, for the designe is
visible.'
* Well,' replied Albemarle, * now the Kinge was
displeased with the mihtia in generall, and that the
behavioer of those in the West gave him just Cause ;
wherefore it was conceaued [ceived] he would make
no more use of them, but have the monie that expense
came to, and mawteine forces in euery countie pro-
portionate. But that must be by Act of Parliament,
and we shall heare more of that matter next meeting,
possibly.' ^
So the conversation ended.
Later in the day, Albemarle took his way to
Whitehall Palace to take his part in the ceremony
appointed to elect Lord Feversham to the Order of
the Garter. With him went old Sir John Bramston
to assist the Duke with the petition of one Mr.
Cadmore. It would seem to be Albemarle's first
appearance at Court since the rebellion, and he went
without misgiving.
^ Autobiography of Sir John Bramston, p. 205.
i685] THE WRATH OF THE KING 217
As soon as the chapter was over, Albemarle pre-
sented himself to the King in the bedchamber and
spoke with him earnestly apart. Sir John was out
of ear reach, but ' the Lord Lucas whoe was also in
the bedchamber ' reported to the anxious friend that
the King had talked earnestly to the Duke and
* jobed him,' ^ that was the word used, * soe that the
tears stood in his eyes.'
What the conversation turned upon, it is vain to
conjecture. Did some casual allusion to the letter
from Sunderland bring down on Albemarle's head the
royal wrath ? Or had the King tried his hand at
converting this most loyal subject to his own religion ?
Many were the rumours about the Court. Albemarle
himself was not so much disquieted as irritated as he
thought over the King's words and reviewed in his own
mind the fact that many others were being rewarded
for services in the Rebellion, while he, who had been
the first in the field and the last to leave, had nothing
but more debts to show for his loyalty. For much
of the expense of maintaining the militia had come
from his own pocket. ^
At the end of the interview the petition of the un-
known Cadmore was presented, and Sir John was
brought in to ' inform his Majestic fully of the matter
and proceedings.' ' Which I did,' says he, * but
after went away, the Duke staying at Court that
evening.'
The shaft of the afternoon still rankled, and Albe-
marle, once more approaching the King, asked to
know what post he had now that Feversham was
^ ' Obsolete word, meaning to rebuke, reprove, or reprimand in a
long and tedious harangue ; from Job, in allusion to the lengthy reproofs
addressed to Job by his friends.' — Oxford Dictionary.
* S.P. Dom., James ii., vol. ii. letter 12. Letter from Albemarle to
Sunderland, August 4. See also p. 251 concerning the King's share
of the treasure.
2i8 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
appointed Lieutenant-General. The King replied,
* You are the first Collonell.'
* But, Sir,' said he, * I had a Patent to command all
the forces, and I know not how to serue under those
I have commanded.' Then he added, * If your
Majesty please, you may see my Commission.'
The King replied, ' That ended with my brother,
his Hfe.'
* If your Majesty please, you may take my com-
mission and confer it on some bodie you thinck better
of.' For the heat of pride was rising. But the King
tried to soothe his irascible subject, saying, * I would
not have you quitt my imployment. I will not take
your commission ; but think better on it. Sleep
upon it.' ^
But such fatherly counsel could not prevail with a
soul that could ill brook being put by. The night
brought not the counsel the King desired, and the
next day, July 31, Albemarle reappeared at Court
with his Commission, repeating his hope that the
King would take it and confer it on some one of whom
he had a better opinion and give him leave to retire.
All of this the King obligingly did, and conferred the
command of the Guards upon Lord Feversham, the
rising star. Moreover, determined to be quit of the
Court for ever, Albemarle resigned his Lord-Lieuten-
ancy of Devon and Joint-Lieutenancy of Essex. He
immediately wrote what Sir John called a * very hand-
same letter' to his University, telling them he was
retired from Court and so not capable to serve them as
he desired. During his retirement, he recommended
them to the care of the * Archbp. of Canterburie.*
On August 3 he wrote in a hand shaken by the
depth of his agitation to Archbishop Sancroft as
follows :
^ Diary of Sir John Bramston, p. 207.
i685] WHAT WHITEHALL THOUGHT 219
* May it please your Grace, — Being going into
the country for some time, w'^'^ may make me unable
to serve ye University of Cambridge Soe readily as
I could wish and knowing the great affection your
Grace has ever expressed to that University, I think
I cannot find out a better patron for them then your
Grace, I humbly desire therefore y^ your Grace will
please to give ye University of Cambridge leave to
make ther apphcations to you, and that your Grace
will please to be their patron with his maj''^ in my
absence to do them what service they shall have
occasion for, and as your Grace will shew great good-
ness in it to that University w'^^ was honoured with
your education, soe Your Grace will much oblige,
May it please Your Grace, Your Graces most affec-
tionate friend and humble Servant,
' Albemarle.^
' Newcastle House, Aug. ye zrd 1685.'
That Sancroft acceded to this request is shown by
the letters on Cambridge affairs which follow in his
letter-book.
What Whitehall thought of Albemarle's resignation
is shown in a letter written by William Blathwayt to
his friend. Sir Robert Southwell, who was visiting the
Marquis of Worcester at Badminton in Gloucester-
shire :
* You will hear fram the Great men with whom you
are what passes among our great men here. That the
Duke of Albemarle, Sensible of what past in the West
and his not having any preferment or Title while we
have so many Leiut. Gen^^ Major Generals and
Brigadiers, has surrendered to the King all his em-
ployments. Whereupon My L*^ Feversham is made
First Captain of ye Guards and my L'^ Churchill
Capt. of the 3rd Troop.' ^
Sir John Bramston sums up the incident in his
1 Bodleian Library, Tanner MSS., vol. 158, fo. 79. Book of letters
received by Archbishop Sancroft.
« Welbeck MSS.
220 THE ECLIPSE OF ALBEMARLE [book v.
judicial way, torn between his early training as an
upholder of the Divine right of Kings, and personal
indignation at the treatment meted out to his friend :
* I confess I cannet blame the Duke absolutely,
tho' noe man aught to be angry with God, nor the
Kinge, but wee aught to take what their pleasure
shalbe ; but flesh and blood cannot truckle to in-
feriors, and I thinck he had rendered himselfe un-
capable of any command could he haue benn Content
to obey his soe much inferiors. I know others blame
him, and giue instances of others that haue binn put
by great imployments, and yet haue shewne noe
regret ; but I am not courtier enough to thanck for
neglects and affronts as for favours.*
BOOK VI
THE MAN OF ACTION
'The utmost malice of the Stars is past.'
Dryden, Annus Mirabilis.
CHAPTER I
Albemarle, had he but known it, was but the pre-
cursor of many of his kind who should suffer a like
fate at the hands of the King. During the three years
next ensuing, numbers of the Court circle were
dropped from favour. Such men as Aubrey de Vere,
Earl of Oxford ; Charles Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury ;
Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset, to name only a few
out of the many, were deprived of their Lord-Lieuten-
ancies, together with their other military commands,
because they could not support the King's policies.
Had Albemarle possessed the statesman's far-seeing
eye he might have drawn comfort from the aspect of
the future. Without this knowledge, as he suffered
first, so he suffered alone, and his abasement of spirit
was complete.
Shall we now figure him forlorn at Newhall, eating
the bread of bitterness and considering the ingratitude
of princes ? His own papers are silent through these
days, and we can only picture his solitary figure pacing
the lime avenue or that gay pleasance, neglected and
alone, shunned by the crowd that came only when
royalty smiled. He was the more solitary as the
Duchess took this occasion to visit her family at
Welbeck.
If August was dull, September brought compensa-
tion. In the autumn races the Duke's horse beat
* Brown Betty ' for the Winchester Plate .^ Even
1 Hist. MSS. Com., X2th Report, vol. ii., Belvoir MSS. Bridget Noel
to the Countess of Rutland, September 1685, p. 95.
223
224 THE MAN OF ACTION [book vi.
this small victory served to cheer the downcast
Albemarle, while the stakes helped to fill his empty
purse. He did not enjoy the satisfaction of witnessing
the success of his horse, for his disgrace prevented
him from accompanying the King to Winchester.
And, indeed, few others waited on the King at this
time save the Lords Feversham, Newport, Arran, and
the Bishop of Bath and Wells.^ In fact, the Duke
was very ill, in body as well as mind. The joyous
youth, indulging in much exercise, hunting and
fowling, had become a man given over to a sedentary
life. He had always an inclination to jaundice, which
the life at Court, where * he sat up late and often
made merry with his friends,' ^ tended to magnify.
Now the frequent bleedings to which he had sub-
mitted from his cradle had begun to exhaust his
vitality. Alone in his great house, he ate only * crusts
of bread washed down with great draughts of
Lambeth ale.' ^ His nights were restless, and what
sleep he had was broken with * bad dreams,' while
his days were marked by continual headaches and
occasional incoherence in his speech. His friends felt
great anxiety for his health. Lord Bath testified
long after, that during these days the Duke was under
great disturbance of mind, consequent upon his
having received some great unkindness from King
James and his ministers.* While Lord Oxford had
written earlier in the year :
* I received the newes of yo'" not beeing well. My
L^, w**^ all the trouble in y^ world, but Mr. Bowles
assures me it is but a greate cold, w*^^ yet I doe not
like, because it is commonly the beginner of greate
ills.' 6
^ Evelyn, Diary, September i6, 1685.
* Hans Sloane, Brit. Mus., Sloane MSS. 3984, fos. 282-4.
* Ibid. * Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9, 1690.
* Aubrey de Vere, Earl of Oxford. Montagu House MSS.
i685] THE COLOURS OF ALBEMARLE 225
However, he was not too ill to feel an interest in
public events. Upon inquiry of Lord Sunderland,
he learned that the Lord-Lieutenancy of Devon had
been conferred upon the Earl of Bath. Some friendly
correspondent must surely have informed Albemarle
that when his kinsman wrote his letter of thanks for
this favour, he used the occasion to expostulate with
the Government protesting that the Duke of Albe-
marle's influence with the Devonshire Militia was
invaluable,^ while to Albemarle himself he wrote :
* The Deputy-Lieutenants never meet without cele-
brating your Grace's health with all due honour and
gratitude,' and he further expressed the hope that
the Duke would not take it amiss that he had ordered
the Devon Militia to march still under the name and
colours of Albemarle.'' The Duke's heart called him
to return to the old life. Greatly changed as was the
spirit of the Court, he yet felt ill at ease to be absent.
In vain he awaited some whispered hint from new
favourites which might awaken hope of a reconcilia-
tion with the King. Now as the time for Parliament
to assemble drew on, Albemarle determined to humble
his pride and make his peace with his sovereign. In
Lord Dartmouth's capable hands was placed the
delicate mission. So well did he succeed that on
November 10 he was able to gladden the eyes of the
exile with a letter wherein he recites that his Majesty
has accepted the news of Albemarle's * readiness to
serve him . . . with the kindest expressions imagin-
able,' and further adds that it is his Majesty's pleasure
that he should * make what convenient speed ' he
could to town.^ In spite of this summons either sick-
ness or the wise counsel of friends prevailed upon the
^ S.P. Dom., James ii., vol. i., August 8, 1685. Bath to Sunderland,
* Montagu House MSS., March 12, i68|. Bath to Albemarle.
' Montagu House MSS.
226 THE MAN OF ACTION [book vi.
Duke to remain in the country, and it was well that
he did so.
The King's speech on the opening of Parliament
demanded nothing less than the abandonment of
the militia, whose recent conduct he did not fail to
criticise ; the formation of a standing army and a
fresh subsidy to maintain it. These demands were
capped by a strong appeal for the abolition of the
Test Act. This law had prevented Roman Catholics
from serving in the Army, and the new King had
chosen constantly to disregard it.
The Commons fell at once into a careful argument
of the whole matter. The conduct of the militia in
the late Rebellion was reviewed, and Albemarle came
in for his share of praise and blame. Old Sir Thomas
Clarges, regardless of long estrangement, defended
his nephew's reputation with spirit. He insisted that
the Duke of Albemarle would have done still better
service had he been better supported.^ Even the
militia received a kind word ; the trained bands at
Newbury fight did * brave things,* ^ said he, and he
shrewdly estimated the King's revenues to be such
that no new grant would be needed.
The King finding opposition to all his measures, in
disgust prorogued Parliament on December i. Not
until after this date did Albemarle venture to London.
He attended a Privy Council meeting on the i8th at
Whitehall. Altogether he remained in town but a
few days — just long enough to encounter an alarm-
ing adventure. Going through the ill-lighted streets
alone in his sedan-chair he ' was met by a gentleman
who threatened him.' With what intent, robbery
or private malice. Sir John Reresby fails to record,
although he had the story from the Duke's own lips.
^ Ranke, History of England, vol. iv. p. 271.
* CohhettfParliamentary History , November lo-i i, 1O85, vol. iv. p. 382.
i685] IMPORTUNITIES OF THE DUCHESS 227
As a result of this encounter the Duke returned to the
country filled with criticism for the irregulated state
of the London streets.
The Duchess, coming from Welbeck to Newhall,
apprehending that she might soon be left a widow,
began seriously to endeavour to persuade her unhappy
husband to alter his will. By the deed of 1681 she
already had assured to her an income of eight
thousand pounds a year, and the use, during her life,
of Newhall and of all it contained, so that it is difficult
to imagine what more she hoped to gain by a new will.
She had, at this time, warmly espoused the cause of
the mysterious Colonel Thomas Monck and his sons
Christopher and Henry. Perhaps this was only to
combat her husband's preference for John, Earl of
Bath, and other members of the Grenville family.
She summoned to her aid Sir Thomas Stringer, a
man of law, who had served not only her father but
her grandfather, William Pierrepont, and had by him
been brought to the notice of General Monck. She
bound him to her service by promises of a baronetcy,
to be obtained for him through her influence, and
between them they spun out as fine a web of intrigue
and petty persecution as ever was plotted to plague
the life of an unfortunate gentleman.
No wonder the Duke was half distraught by his
troubles, and that this period of stress marks the begin-
ning of that excessive use of strong drink which marred
his later years. For a time Albemarle managed to
elude his wife's desires by promises and by half-hearted
consultations with his various legal advisers. But
as the winter advanced the Duchess was seen to be
in high good humour, for a will after her own heart
had been at last drawn up, and she had faith to believe
that the Duke intended to confirm it. Her health
was still far from satisfactory. Sherwin's print may
228 THE MAN OF ACTION [book vi.
picture her at this time. It shows the face still
blessed with the curious, elusive beauty of her eadier
portraits. The haunting madness of her eyes tells
better than any physician's prophecy what the future
holds in store for her. Richly clad and bejewelled, the
lace scarf about her head adds dignity to her aspect.-^
Her letters tell their own story.
' Ye 26 of Mar. 1686.
* My deare Lord, — I give you a thounthen thanks
for your kind letter and consarne for me, which I was
afrade you had being (been) plesed to think I did not
desarve ; my forbareance from inquiareing of your
helth which is very Deare to me, let me ben ever soe
unhappy, was ocacioned by Mr. Burtanhed's un-
sertane retourne and my imperfit helth which causes
me to remember you to giveing me leve to goe to the
waters I find soe nesesery that I can not omit the
desire or obay your presant commands without in-
dangering my life, ... I heare you will be in Tone
(town) in a little time, I being your dutyfull Wife
' E. Albemarle.' ^
The desired permission was presumably granted,
for another letter, without date, belongs to this period
and reads as follows :
* My deare Lord, — My mother is very fond of you
in all her expressions.
* I give you thanks for your Deare letter and care
of my Helth which your kindness will very much helpe
with ye addishion of ye comfort I reseve from my
Mother whoe is so exstremle kinde to me and you and
A most Just Good womman ; She says noe child aught
to have more than I, but God knows how she will
prevale, I dowt she will not leve long, she has a hard
game to play amoungst us, I feare it will Brake her
hart, she mourne(s) soe in ye letters she writes. I
have takein the waters today and find eses by them ;
pray, if you want me, com hether and you will ouver
Joy Yours for ever E. Albemarle.' ^
1 This print may be seen in the Print Room of the British Museum.
« Montagu House MSS. » Ibid.
FRANCES, DUCHESS OF NEWCASTLE
From the picture by IMary Beale at Wclbeck Abbey
1686] LADY MARGARET CAVENDISH 229
In connection with the ill news of the Duchess of
Newcastle's condition, contained in this letter, it
should be explained that the matter of her husband's
will was not the only business the Duchess of Albe-
marle had under consideration. Her father, the
second Duke of Newcastle, having lost his only son,
was of a dozen minds how to leave his estate among
his five daughters. As the eldest, Elizabeth felt that
she ought to receive the largest share. This view
proved displeasing to the other sisters, and the poor
mother was torn this way and that among her children,
each one demanding her sympathy and interest. As
if this dissension was not a sufficient burden upon the
Duchess of Newcastle, she was further afflicted with
discussion over the marriage of her third daughter,
Lady Margaret Cavendish. Many suitors had been
proposed for her hand, and each member of the
family and their many friends had eligible husbands
to suggest. One day the son of Lord Sunderland was
the favoured suitor, the next the Earl of Northumber-
land. Dr. Barwick, as the confidential physician of the
Duchess of Albemarle, was able to write to his patron
the latest news of how matters stood at this time.
* ... I do not find that ye match with the E.(arl)
of N.(orthumberland) is like to proceed. My La.(dy)
D.(uchess) guesses, and perhaps not amiss, that he
has taken offence. The Knight Marshall whom the
Duchess of Newcastle does not seem to have any good
opinion of, goes towards Newcastle the next week
and takes Notingham Castle in his way where their
Graces will be at that time. He will certenly cary
some new Proposall with him, and I beleive it will
be for my Lord Sunderland's son. My La.(dy)
D.(uchess) will give her Mother an Advertisement of
it this night. And I beleive has proposed a beter
Match then any the Knight Marshall will propose.' ^
* Montagu House MSS.
Q
230 THE MAN OF ACTION [book vi.
The name so mysteriously hinted at as the choice
of the Duchess of Albemarle for her sister, must have
been no other than the Duke's precious charge in the
days of Monmouth's Rebellion — the young Duke of
Berwick. The Duke of Newcastle warmly embraced
the suggestion, and seemed willing to overlook the fact
that this son of I^ng James was a Roman Catholic.
The Duchess and Lady Margaret herself would
hear nothing of this match, and the Duchess of
Albemarle advised in vain.^ She now returned her
thoughts to matters which concerned her more nearly.
As the months went by, finding that the signing of
the new will was not moving with such speed as she
could wish, and believing that the arm of the law was
an insufficient support, the Duchess summoned a new
agent to her aid. Dr. Renwick, brought in as con-
sulting physician by the attentive Dr. Barwick, im-
pressed upon the unhappy husband the necessity of
complying with the Duchess's demands lest she should
have a return of her * former malady.*
Lord Bath was still in the west, and Albemarle
' being thereupon pursued by daily solicitations did
send to Ld. Bath to haste his return for London.' ^
Lord Bath hurried up to town ' on such intimation,'
and arrived there December 1686. Armed with the
will of 1675 and with some misgivings in his heart, he
* waited on the Duke at Newcastle House.' Much
entertaining discourse passed between the two friends.
They had not met since the Duke's disgrace, and
Christopher could, at last, pour out the story of his
wrongs to truly sympathetic ears. Lord Bath him-
self introduced the subject of the will, and the Duke
^ Lady Margaret Cavendish later married John Holies, fourth Earl
of Clare. Her father left her the greater part of his estate, including
Welbeck Abbey, ' for natural love and affection.' Lord Clare was
created Duke of Newcastle by King William in.
* Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9, Bath v. Montagu.
i686] CONSULTATIONS 231
renewed his recital of wrongs. How much he was
pressed to make a new will, and how uneasy a life he
had led with his wife, the Duchess, on that account.
In fact, he averred with great doubts, * I am con-
tinually vexed and even almost to distraction by the
Duchess and her agents.' He declared that ' he was
resolved that he would not do anything in prejudice
of his former Will and Settlement.' And he concluded,
* You shall not fare worse for trusting me, or putting
the Will into my hands,' and withal told him he would
give him what was better.^
Some few days later, summoning Lord Bath again
to Newcastle House, he bade him consult with counsel
whether a new will could prejudice the effectiveness
of the Settlement, and Lord Bath soon returned bring-
ing the welcome news that the Settlement could not
be revoked in any manner save as in the deed pre-
scribed. * Whereat his Grace was well pleased,* and
the friends took comfort together, for Albemarle had
no thought of really revoking his original settlement.
It is evident that this opinion took a weight from
his heart, and * he gave way with less regret to the
solicitations of the confederates,' as the Duchess and
her adherents in the household had come to be called.
He even gave way so far as to advise with Sir Henry
Pollexfen over the draft of another will prepared
under the Duchess's eye. This learned counsel must
have had misgivings as to the methods of one of his
principals, for the Duchess sending for him to discuss
some alterations in the will which she had in mind,
he, after the manner of the time, * seemed to be
troubled to be sent for from his Chambers on that
account,' and ' uttered some words of discontent on
his coming out of her presence not without some kind
of reflections on the Duchess' deportment.* Would
' Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. g, Bath v. Montagu, passim.
232 THE MAN OF ACTION [book vi.
that these words were recorded ! Were they but a
masculine protest against feminine intrigue, or did his
cold legal heart go out in sympathy to the hard-
pressed Duke ?
Throughout the ensuing winter, as the Duke told
Lord Bath, ' He was much laboured to make another
will.' If he did so, his friends believed ' it was to
obtain rest and ease from the Duchess's importunities,'
and in the full belief that he was leaving the strength
of his earlier settlement unimpaired. At any rate,
the Duchess so dreaded Lord Bath's influence that
throughout this winter she posted spies about the
house to overhear the conversations of her lord and
his friend. But in spite of her vigilance and the skill
of her confederates, the Duke managed to postpone
the evil day. These transactions concerning the
making of the new will extended through many
months, and should be remembered as an accompani-
ment to matters of even greater moment which
occupied the Duke during the same time, and which
shall now be narrated.
CHAPTER II
After a time of depression, Albemarle had recovered
from the first bitterness of his downfall. Unlike the
Duke of Buckingham, a man of far more brilliant
parts, who had likewise suffered financial ruin and had
lately died sunk in obscurity and poverty, he set about
the repair of his fortune and the re-establishment of
his prestige at Court. In the spring of 1686 certain
rumours concerning him were heard in the ante-
rooms at Whitehall and the cabinets of statesmen's
secretaries. Could it be true that the Duke of
Albemarle was seriously considering the governor-
ship of Jamaica ? He himself remained quietly in
the country or at Newcastle House, and his faithful
followers listened to every Court rumour with hope
deferred.
On the strength of some favourable gossip, John
Coppleston writes to Albemarle from the Old Palace,
Westminster, on April 10, 1686:
' It has been confidently said that the King meant
to be with y^ Grace at New Hall for three or four
days this week. Some s*^ it was only to hunt, but the
Polls shook their heads and seemed to apprehend
great things.' ^
This story brought new courage to Albemarle's
friends, but they were destined to wait for a whole
month before its realisation could be accomplished.
In the middle of April came news that more sur-
prised than pleased them. Sir Philip Howard, the
» Montagu House MSS.
283
234 THE MAN OF ACTION [book vi.
Governor of Jamaica, had died while on a visit to
England, and within a few days the Duke of Albemarle
was known to have arrived at Windsor, where, to the
amazement of all, he kissed the King's hand for the
government of Jamaica, whither it was said he in-
tended to go suddenly with his Duchess.^ Many
besides Mr. Blathwayt ' wondered to hear that the
D. of Albemarle is so desirous of the government
of Jamaica.' ^ His friends were aghast at the idea.
What would the splendid Duke of Albemarle do in
that insignificant possession ? The men of Devon,
roused to action, put into plain words what they
firmly believed to be the cause of all his troubles and
bade him hesitate to throw himself once more into
the hands of his enemies. Richard Coffin, High
Sheriff of Devon, was the probable author of a formal
protest entitled * Reasons Humbly offered to the
Duke of Albemarle Against his going Governor to
Jamaica.' After stating the more obvious objec-
tions to the project, the writer proceeds :
* Do you not think the same people will use you as
they did when you were in the West and at White-
hall ? They will have continual spies upon you and
misinterpret everything you do.
* That you may know that this is not mine alone,
but the General voice of the whole town, read but all
the lampoons with which the Town hath swarmed of
late ; yet which though otherwise not much to be
regarded, yet when so very universale they show at
least the sense of the times ; for the voice of Every-
body is called the voice of God.' ^
Others did not hesitate to hint that the Jamaica
governorship was intended to serve as a kind of
* Welbeck MSS. John Povey to Sir Robert Southwell, April 17, 1686.
* Welbeck MSS. Blathwayt to Southwell, April 17, 1686.
* The original draft is in the possession of Mrs. Pine-Coffin, Onleigh
Court, Bideford, and was not available for examination.
i686] THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA 235
banishment to one who refused to bend to the will of
the King.
Mr. Povey again condescends to gossip, and asserts
that * the Duke of Newcastle is coming to town to
Endeavour to diswade his Son-in-law from the
thought of it.' ^ On reflection, the father-in-law
contented himself with writing from Nottingham
Castle :
* We hear your Grace is resolved to go for Jamaica ;
I pray for your health and long life, and all prosperity
to your Grace.' ^
After which he proceeds to bring to notice a friend
who wishes a position as the new Governor's agent.
Offers of assistants poured in from every side, and
Albemarle, had he wished, could have furnished him-
self with a suite made up from the needy relatives of
his friends. He retired to the quiet of Newhall to
await further events.
In the early days of May he seems to have despaired
altogether of the King's coming, and, determining to
await his pleasure no longer, he invited a gay party
of his own for the stag-hunting in Newhall forest.
Among his guests were Prince George of Denmark
(husband of Princess Anne), Lord Dartmouth, now
become Master of the Horse, and with them, remark-
able to relate. Lord Feversham. Surely the flight
of time must have healed the breach between them !
So important a gathering of favourites carries out
John Copplestone's theory that matters unknown to
the public were to be discussed.
So when, on a fine Monday morning, the King rode
in his coach to Newhall, he was met at Chelmsford by
the news that the Duke of Albemarle and his guests
were hunting in quite another direction. A charming
» Welbeck MSS. Povey to Southwell. ^ Montagu House MSS.
236 THE MAN OF ACTION [book vi.
description of what followed these tidings remains to
us in the Autobiography of Sir John Bramston :
* The Kinge, being invited by the Duke of Albe-
marle to Newhall to hunt some out-lyinge red deere,
his Majestle went towards New Hall the 3rd of May,
1686 ; and when he came neere Chelmsford, hearinge
the Duke with the hounds were neere the place where
the Stagg was harboured, in a wood neere Bicknaker
Mill,^ his Majestic turned out of the road, and went
by Moulsham Hall 2 thither.
* The stagg came out of the wood neere where the
Kinge was ' (how amazing is the courtier-like be-
haviour of the stags of Newhall Forest) ; * and manie
with him, who followed the hounds. But Prince
George, the Duke of Albemarle, Earle of Feversham,
Lord Dartmouth, and Seuerall others, being on the
other side of the wood, heard not the hounds, nor knew
not that the Stagg had left the wood until late, and
so seuerall cast out, and neuer reacht the hounds.
The stagg made toward the forest, and gott thither
and rann almost as farr as Wanstead, where turninge
head, he was at last killed betweene Rumford and
Brentwood, or neerer Rumford. The Kinge was
neere at the death ; he gott coach to carrie him to
Brentwood (where his own coach was), and well
pleased that he was in, the Lords throwne out. They
not recouering the hounds, went all to New Hall
whither, after 9 of the clock at night, his Majestic
came to supper. A table was prepared for his
Majestic and others for the Lords and gentlemen ;
but the King would have his fellow hunters sup with
him, and about a dozen sate down with him.'
With great chances of probability we may fancy
this happy supper-party against the background of
the noble proportions of the great hall, with its Tudor
bays, Henry viii.'s arms gleaming down from the
wall to remind the guests that here the bluff monarch
had kept his Feast of St. George in 1524. Did his
^ Bick nacre, about six miles from Chelmsford.
* An ancient seat of the Mildmay family, built about 1450.
i686] A STAG-HUNT AT NEWHALL 237
host lead King James, while in this affable mood, to
promise to him some of those numberless perquisites
which so delight us among the appurtenances of the
next Governor of Jamaica ?
We have abundant evidence that King James was
habitually sleepy after a day's hunting. His letters
to William of Orange amply testify to this wholesome
state, and this Monday night in May could have been
no exception. If his host and other of the guests
kept up the merriment to later hours, it may account
for the mishaps of the following day.
They were surely abroad on Tuesday morning
* very betimes,' as Pepys would say, to have accom-
plished all that Sir John Bramston again records :
* The next day he (the King) hunted a Stagg which
lay in New Hall Parke, and had been there the most
part of the winter. After a round or two, he leapt
the pale, tooke the riuer, and rann thro' Bramfield
[Broomfield ?] Pleshie, and so to the Roothings and
was killed in Hatfield. His Majistie pretie neere the
doogs, tho' the ditchs were broad and deep, the hedges
high, and the way and feilds dirty and deep ; But
most of the Lords were cast out again, and amongst
them the Duke of Albemarle. The King was much
pleased again that the Lords were cast out, who yet
recouered him ere long, and considering his coach and
Guards were quite another way, they were at a loss
what to doe.'
A quandary indeed ! The King was desirous to
return to London, and the day was far spent, for the
hunt had taken them half across Essex and the dinner
hour was long past. In the emergency,
* Lord Dartmouth advised to send to Copt Hall,
to the Earl of Dorset, that the King would come
and dine there, and dispatched away a groome to
give his Lordship notice, and so rode easily on (it
beinge directly in his way to London).'
238 THE MAN OF ACTION [book vi.
The fine masculine unconcern of this proceeding
is full of human interest. Behold the cavalcade of
hunters, King and nobles alike mud-bespattered
from those 'dirty fields and deep,' a wholesome
hunger gnawing in each man of them. Lord Dart-
mouth happily conscious that he had made a good
suggestion at an opportune moment.
At Copt Hall the Fates had already paved the way
for comedy. Lord Dorset,^ all unconscious of the
honour to fall suddenly upon him, had ridden off that
morning to Rockholts to dine ' with a great manie
gentlemen at Sir W. Hicks.' Moreover, the * Cook
and the butler were gone to a faire at Waltham ' ;
upon these domestic incidents, common to all ages,
* The messenger came and found the Lady North-
ampton and the Lady Dorset, ^ her daughter, in a
coach, goinge abroad on a visit.' ' The Countess
was much surprised,' says old Sir John. But one
must figure the consternation of the older lady,
the indignant dismay of the younger, seated in
their coach in visiting array, and indeed already on
the road.
' She would have excused it, her Lord and servants
all from home.' The words were hardly formed in
courteous phrase, when * a second messenger come-
ing,' poor Lady Dorset, reaHsing herself within the
grip of circumstance, * turned her coach, and went
home, and sent her coach to meet his majestic.*
Her trials had only begun. On descending from
her coach amid the excited maids, who must be her
helpers, her first thought was the larder. Quick,
quick, the keys ! Alas, the careful men-servants had
* Charles Sackville, sixth Earl of Dorset.
* Mary Compton, daughter of James Compton, third Earl of North-
ampton, d. 1691. Her portrait by Kneller hangs in the ballroom at
Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent.
i686] A HANDSOME COLLATION 239
borne with them to the fair the keys of storeroom and
cellar.
* With the helpe of the maides ' those white hands
broke open locke and * dores.' With upturned
petticoat, but unwrinkled brow, we leave her in the
kitchen. To Lady Northampton our chronicler does
not assign a part ; but we may safely figure her
welcoming the royal guest and his train :
* By such time as His Majestic arrived, had washt,
and viewed the gardens and house, a very handsom
collation was gotten for him. Extreamly well pleased
with the treat (he) came toward London, and on the
road meet the Earl of Dorset returning home from
Rookehalts. The Earl alighted, and comeinge to the
coache side, bemoaning his ill-fortune that he should
not be in the way to receave that great honour, and
makeing excuse that all things were not answerable
to his desires, the King replyed, " Make noe excuses,
it was exceedinge well, and very handsome." And
soe His Majestic came safe and well [to] London, and
well pleased with his sport.'
One last echo of this hunting party, and that is
from the King himself. On May 7, 1686, he wrote
from Whitehall to William of Orange, and in spite of
his haste to insist that the States-General shall banish
his rebellious subjects from Holland, he finds time to
begin :
* I came from Newhall on Tuesday night where
I had been stag-hunting, and had very good
sport.' ^
But he said no word of that * handsom collation ' pre-
pared by lovely Lady Dorset. It was left to the aged
chronicler, Sir John Bramston, to preserve that picture
for us.
1 S.P. Dom., King William's Chest. Letters from James ii. to
William of Orange.
240 THE MAN OF ACTION [book vi.
On May 31, Lord Sunderland v/rote from Windsor
to the Lords of Trade and Plantations, announcing
the appointment of Albemarle to be Governor of
Jamaica, his commission to bear date immediately
from the death of Sir Philip Howard.^
* Howard died April ii, 1686.
BOOK VII
THE TREASURE SHIP
'Then we upon the Globe's last verge shall go
And view the ocean leaning on the sky.'
Dryden, Annus Mirabilis.
CHAPTER I
Little did the courtiers guess with what good reason
the Duke of Albemarle eagerly accepted the Jamaica
governorship. The spirit of adventure, gift of his
Devon blood, did not alone call him to sail to the
mysterious West, where amid prosperity and tropical
ease he might cleanse his soul of past offences. The
governorship was but the vehicle with which he pro-
posed to revive his fallen fortunes. Nor was his
interest in the West Indies a sudden whim. The
Monck family had held interests in the islands of
the Caribbean Sea even before the days of the Lord
General, and the Duke as early as 1683 believed that
he saw a way to relieve his financial difficulties through
his connection with the West Indies.
In this year there was seen upon the streets of
London, and in the ante-rooms at Whitehall, a strange
figure. This proved to be Captain William Phips of
the New England plantations, originally a ship's car-
penter, but at this time master of a sailing vessel.
While cruising in the Spanish Main in the pursuit of
trade he had heard rumours of a large Spanish galleon
freighted with gold and silver for the King of Spain,
and driven on the rocks by a tempest in the year 1659.^
Her crew had perished with the ship. The Spanish
king, reluctant to lose his treasure, had sent out to
recover it, but without success. The French and
English kings likewise had pursued the same quest and
in vain. Twenty years and more she had been hidden
^ Life of Sir William Phips, in Cotton Mather's Magnalta.
243
244 THE TREASURE SHIP [book vii.
by the sea off the shores of Hispaniola,^ a lure to all
who sailed the Spanish Main.
The fortunate finding of a pirate's cache had some-
what enriched Captain Phips, and fired his heart with
an unquenchable desire to search for the treasure of
the lost galleon. To obtain the King's patent and
to borrow a frigate for the enterprise had brought
him to London and Whitehall. Here the energetic
captain spent time and dubloons to no purpose, and
wore out his patience while waiting in the King's
ante-chamber. By some means he came suddenly
into terms of intimacy with the Duke of Albemarle.
Mr. Arthur Fairwell, the Duke's secretary and cousin
by marriage, came of a family who had early settled
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and it may have
been through his agency that Captain Phips came
to be presented to the Duke. The captain, having
told his story, felt that his fortune was made when he
perceived how deeply the Duke's interest was aroused.
His imagination had at once seized on the project,
the galleon lay upon the sea's bottom only awaiting
his opportunity. He easily persuaded the King to
lend his frigate Algier Rose, eighteen guns and ninety-
five seamen. He himself supplied money from a
sadly depleted purse. Hope ran high in the hearts
of both the Duke and the hardy captain. But the
expedition failed, and Albemarle was forced to endure
as best he could the sly smiles of the Court at the
outcome of his West India adventure.
The spring of 1685 was an eventful one for all the
Court, and when the Lords of Trade and Plantations
received among their colonial reports a letter from
Acting-Governor Hender Molesworth of Jamaica
bringing news of a sunken treasure ship, they took
but a languid interest in the story. With the
1 Haiti.
i685] THE GENTLEMEN ADVENTURERS 245
Governor's report of how he had sent the Bonito
to investigate the tale, and how bad weather had
foiled his purpose, was enclosed a deposition of one
John Smith, a seaman, signed and sworn to before
a justice of the island.^ This Uttle paper narrated
how the sailor on a cruise, being on the north-east coast
of Hispaniola,2 had come upon a reef. On this he
saw several ingots of silver and one of gold, and within
forty feet of it the hull of a ship wedged in upright.
The wind freshened so that further searching was im-
possible, but the sailor believed he could find the place
again. The Duke of Albemarle had been a member
of this Committee for several years. Was he more
credulous than his colleagues, or had he more imagina-
tion ? The seaman asked for a fifth of the treasure
as the price of his guidance. But the chance seemed
to him worth the taking. Before hastening to the
West to defend his country against Monmouth's
invasion, he secured from the King some sort of
promise that this treasure ship should be his.
During his year of disfavour, he interested certain
acquaintances in the venture. Of these the old naval
hero, Sir John Narborough, was first. That stout, but
needy cavaHer, Sir John Falkland, second, and Sir
James Hayes, once Secretary of Prince Rupert, third.
A stock company was formed, and, under the name of
the Gentlemen Adventurers, the first steps were taken
toward sending out an expedition. Two other valiant
gentlemen resolved each to take a share : Mr. Francis
Nicolson, soon to go as Lieutenant-Governor to the
Dominion of New England, and Mr. Isaac Foxcraft.
Narborough and Foxcraft, more experienced in
worldly matters, soon realised that the Duke's patent
was not sufficiently binding to make them sure of
getting suitable return for their investment. So they
» C. O. I : 57, No. 9. - Haiti.
R
246 THE TREASURE SHIP [book vii.
indited the following letter to their noble patron and
principal stockholder, for they perceived that his
mind was so filled with thoughts of golden doubloons
and ingots of silver that he quite overlooked the
practical details :
* May it please yo^ Grace, — To permitt us in as
few words as may be to remember you, that it is of
most absolute and indispensable importance to build
upon a firme foundation, That y^ Warrant already
obtained is but an Authority, countermandable as
soon as y® shipp is gone out of y^ River, That there is
noe time expressed in itt, whereby it is Defective,
That y^ Proper and most Safe way for y^ King to
transfer an Interest (not to be frustrated) is und"^ y^
Great or Privy Scale, by proper words of Grant, That
y^ King haveing granted an Authority under y^ Scale
of y*^ Admiralty will be easily induced to confirme it
by his Privy Scale, That this Warrant may be usefull
as to what concerneth y^ Admiralty, and y^ other may
serve for confirmation of y^ King's intention in a
Legall manner. Upon these Considerations we pre-
sume to press Yo"" Grace to think it Convenient either
by Yo"^ Presence, or otherwise if that can not bee, to
procure a Privy Seale, according to y^ draught here-
with sent from Yo"" Grace's most obedient Serv^^
' John Narbrough.
' Isaac Foxcraft.'
(Addressed) : * To his Grace the Duke of Albemarle
prsent.' ^
In compliance with this natural request, Albemarle
asked and was given a patent made out in due form,
and bearing the date of March 4, i68f .
Captain Phips, whom Bramston describes as well
skilled in ' mathematicks,' and also having * ac-
quainted himselfe in India with some that had the
art of divinge,' was engaged to take charge of the
adventure. The ships James and Mary and the
^ Montagu House MSS.
i686] CAPTAIN WILLIAM PHIPS 247
Henry, Captain Francis Rogers, commander, were
secured for the voyage. These were manned, vic-
tualled and loaded with a cargo for trade with the
Spaniards, so that if the search was unsuccessful,
barter should pay for the expense of the expedition.
The Duke supplied eight hundred pounds and was
to receive four-sixteenths of the treasure. The other
Gentlemen Adventurers, five in all, Sir James Hayes,
Lord Falkland, Sir John Narborough, Mr. Francis
Nicolson, and Mr. Isaac Foxcraft, each supplied one
hundred pounds, and were each to receive two-six-
teenths. The King by law received ten per cent, of all
treasure. Mr. Smith, who can be no other than the
seaman who knew the location of the wreck, supplied
no capital and signed no articles of agreement, and
was to receive one-sixteenth as his share. Captain
Phips was seemingly content with one-sixteenth.
By March i, 1686, Phips and his two ships set
sail for the West, and every one forgot all about
them for more than a year and a day. Every one
except the Adventurers themselves, or when Albe-
marle vainly offered to part with some of his shares
to Lord Sunderland and Lord Dartmouth. These
wise ones were too sophisticated to invest good
money in sunken treasure. All of them ' refused to
be concerned in it or to venture any money upon
it.'i
Let us follow the treasure seekers, after whom
Albemarle's thoughts so often turned. Captain
Phips kept a journal of all his proceedings, written,
frugal man, upon the unused pages of an older ship's
log. It is now in the British Museum, among the
Sloane MSS. That great collector. Dr. Hans Sloane,
mentions in his Voyage to Madeira having seen this
1 Hist. MSS. Com., 12th Report, Beaufort MSS., p. 90.
248 THE TREASURE SHIP [book vii.
journal when he visited Barbadoes. Having bor-
rowed it to read, he evidently kept it.
The James and Mary, under Captain Phips,
accompanied by the Henry, began the really serious
work of their voyage at Samana in the island of Haiti,
when having engaged in trade with the Spaniards,
they at last set out for the * rack ' (wreck) . But the
wind proving unfavourable, they put in to Porta
Plata, and entered into trade with the Spaniards.
Captain Phips, with Yankee shrewdness, had de-
termined to secure the price of the expedition by com-
mercial enterprise before embarking on the fascinating,
but illusive, treasure hunt. Thus many weeks passed
in preparation, and in awaiting favourable weather.
It was not until January 13 that the captain simply
records :
* This evening Mr. Rogers set sail with Mr. Covell,
our Second Mate and the three divers, with orders if
they could get a strech of fair weather to go on ye
bank and make a seerch for ye wreak.'
So Mr. Rogers and Captain Phips's divers, brought
from the pearl fisheries of the East, blessed with three
days calm weather, searched the bank to good
purpose. For there, sure enough, was the great
galleon lying helpless inside a moon-shaped reef, her
planks grown over with sea-feather, coral and lapis
astroite. The divers worked with a will, so that
Captain Phips's long boat, returning with Captain
Roger's report, brought
* what made our hearts glad to see which was 4 sows,
I barr, i champend, 2 dow boyds, 2000 and odd
Dollars, by which we understood that they had found
the wreck.'
It did not take the New England captain long to
ship provisions, and on Sunday, February 28, he rode
1687] FISHING FOR TREASURE 249
at anchor off the reef. Captain Phips was too strict
an observer of the laws of New England to work
on this or any other Lord's Day. Each week
he records, * This being the Lord's Day we rested.'
Fortunately, variable winds marked most Sundays.
Only once was he tempted, but withstood. For, to
the usual entry of rest for Sunday, March 6, he adds,
* Notwithstanding the weather was fair.'
So, for the next three months, every calm day saw
the crew, divers, and officers at work. Early in the
morning they departed from the James and Mary,
returning * just as dayhght began to shut in,' with an
ever-increasing store of Spanish gold and silver, brass
cannon and broken plate. True, much of it was en-
crusted and overgrown with coral and deposits from
the sea, but this cast no damper on the enthusiasm of
the men. The divers, far below in the clear tropic
waters, fastened the ship's grappling-irons to the
heaviest pieces, which willing hands drew to the
surface. Others of the crew employed themselves
with a species of rake, so gathering up from the
sea's bottom such treasure as had been scattered by
the waves. Captain Phips was a man of deeds,
not words. Did the whitening bones of those
Spaniards, drowned in their galleon, still in death
keep watch of their treasure ? Rough sailor hands
would soon cast them aside, and bluff Captain Phips
passes them over in silence while he weighs their
doubloons.
So hard did they all work, that before long the poor
divers grew gravely ill, and the Captain was in a fine
dilemma, until he heard of the contrivance of an
ingenious Bermudian used by the West Indians on
earlier wrecks.^ This consisted of a tub put per-
' C. O. I : 49, No. 35, August 29, 1682. Sir Thomas Lynch to the
Lords of Trade and Plantations.
250 THE TREASURE SHIP [book vii.
pendicularly into the sea, so that it did not fill, into
which the diver could put his head when he wanted
breath, by which means he could stay three-quarters
of an hour under water. By the use of this primitive
diving-bell the work went steadily on.
One day late in February a sloop and shallop
appeared on the horizon, and proved to be some of
Phips's companions of the former voyage still search-
ing for the wreck. They also were pressed into the
service, and the treasure was now mounting so that
it was to be measured by tons. * A bad day's work '
brought on board three thousand and thirty-one
dollars and fifteen hundred half-dollars.
By the last of April the ships were loaded to their
capacity. With the greatest reluctance the Captain
turned his back upon the wreck. Provisions had
been secured from Jamaica, water and salt were to be
found on Turk's Island. This moment of triumph
and excitement proved almost their last, for the
heavily laden ship ran aground on the Handker-
chief Bank. Happily they got off, or the Spanish
gold might have once more been lost to the world.
The sun of May 2 saw them spread all sail for
England.
They purposely had left their principals without
news of their success. They had been as silent as
though sunk in the sea, where the Gentlemen Adven-
turers greatly feared they had gone, for one timorous
investor. Sir Richard Haddock, sold out his hundred
pound share for ninety pounds only a month or two
before the reappearance of the ships.^ On June 3
they sighted the Scilly Isles, and on the 6th cast anchor
in the Downs. A courier made all speed to London,
where he arrived at three o'clock on the morning of
June 8. A veritable confusion of tongues arose at
» Hist. MSS. Com., 12th Report, Beaufort MSS., p. 90.
i687] ARRIVAL OF THE TREASURE SHIP 251
Whitehall when the Court awoke to hear the tidings.
Even the stoutest imagination could hardly exceed
the truth. All in a day Albemarle was the most
talked-of man in town, and the news quickly spread
to the three kingdoms. Every letter from the know-
ing ones in town to the curious ones in the country
carried the tale of this fabulous treasure trove. The
Duke of Beaufort writes to his Duchess, enlarging
on the great story, how the Adventurers, grown
splendidly prodigal, have offered the King twenty
thousand pounds at a venture for his share. John
Verney talks of the King's share, and gossips that
* some say the King gave his part to Albemarle in
lieu of the debt in the Exchequer of eighteen thousand
pounds which it cost the Duke in fitting out at the
time of the Rebellion in the West.'
The share of each of the Adventurers who had only
invested one hundred pounds a piece, was variously
estimated from eight thousand pounds to ten thousand
pounds. Albemarle himself received some ninety
thousand pounds as his share. It came none too
soon, for he was already in treaty with the Lord
Chancellor Jeffreys to sell his favourite manors of
Dalby and Broughton. Dr. Hans Sloane, Albemarle's
new physician, reports that the treasure measured
twenty-six tons. Lord Oxford, whose wife was a
niece of the Duchess of Albemarle, noted, in 1729,
that there was taken up from ' The Duke of Albe-
marle's rack ' . . . ' nine Tymes Sixty Seaven Thou-
sand and two Hundred pounds.' ^ Captain Phips's
four thousand pounds proved the foundation of his
later fortune. And the Duke of Albemarle, gener-
ously gallant, sent a present of a golden cup valued
at one thousand pounds to Mrs. Phips in New
1 Welbeck MSS. Edward Harley, second Earl of Oxford and Earl of
Mortimer.
252 THE TREASURE SHIP [book vii.
England.^ Nor was Mrs. Phips the only lady to
receive tokens. Lord Oxford reports ' two Bags
of Gold of neare (20 lbs.) waite were given to ye
Queen.' Even Evelyn, shaken out of his usual
philosophic calm, describes the venture in his
Diary.
The event was further emphasised by two medals
ordered by the King, struck in honour of the occasion,
both designed by George Bowen. The first shows
the heads of the King and Queen on the obverse, on
the reverse the James and Mary riding at anchor
on a calm sea, in high-pooped majesty, while from
small boats the sailors fish with rakes. The motto
quoted from Ovid, * Semper tibi pendeat Hamus '
(Always let your hook be hanging), seems to com-
mend future expeditions to diligence. The King
presented copies of this medal in silver to the
officers of the ship and to the Gentlemen Adven-
turers themselves. During that summer he carried
a few about with him to bestow upon favoured
individuals.
The other medal is of smaller size ; the obverse
shows Albemarle in profile, and, on the reverse,
Neptune in the foreground lying at ease upon the
waves, while two frigates approach from the horizon.
The motto is ' Ex aqua omnia.'
Albemarle did not let his good fortune blind him
to the necessities of the future. More treasure re-
mained to be sought, and he followed the King to
Windsor to arrange for further grants. On Tuesday
afternoon, June 14, Mr. Pepys found himself making
notes at a meeting in the Treasury Chamber, Windsor
Castle. With the King there were present Lord
Godolphin, Lord Dover, Sir Stephen Fox, Mr.
Chancellor. The Duke of Albemarle, the Lord
1 Hawthorne, Grandjatlier's Chair, p. 484.
MEDALS (ORIGINAL SIZE) STRUCK IN HONOUR OF THE DUKE OF
ALBEMARLE AND THE GENTLEMEN ADVENTURERS
i687] THE DEMANDS OF THE KING 253
Falkland, Sir John Narborough, Sir James Hayes, all
Adventurers, were called in, and Mr. Pepys was there
for the debate. And a warm debate it must have
proved to be. The Adventurers were dependent upon
the King for the use of a frigate, and His Majesty
was inclined to press his advantage. He now de-
manded, instead of his legal one-tenth share, one-fifth
of all treasure to be recovered, and when these returns
amounted to one hundred and fifty thousand pounds
he demanded one-third part of all that exceeded that
sum.^
The new expedition was to be under the old naval
veteran Sir John Narborough, with Captain Phips as a
second in command. The King promised the use of
a frigate (the Turks Tyger, or Eiger, called by both
names in the patents, but this was exchanged for the
Foresight before the expedition sailed) for one year,
full manned (200 men), and with guns, tackle,
ammunition, apparel, and furniture suitable for this
service, and to defray all charges of * Weare and
Tare ' during the voyage. The Adventurers on their
side were to pay the wages of officers and men, and
victual the ship, together with any other vessels
which accompanied them. Orders were further given
that all governors, commanders of ships, and all
officers, civil and military, should lend their aid to
the enterprise, and that Sir John Narborough was
empowered to drive away all others from fishing
from the wreck.^
One more honour was conferred upon Captain Phips.
On June 28 the Duke of Albemarle presented his
Captain to the King at Windsor,^ where ' His Maj^'^
1 Bodleian Library, Rawlinson A, 189, fo. 370.
* There was some question as to what should be done with the
treasure taken by other ships, and what share should be reserved for
the King.
» Kennet, History oj England (1703), vol. iii. p. 470.
254 THE TREASURE SHIP [book vil
rec'd him very graciously and knighted him.' So as
Sir WilHam Phips the former Captain went forth to
make a name for himself in the colonial history of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
All this excitement had its effect upon the world
at large. While Albemarle and the King discussed
new patents for future treasure, those sloops which
had assisted Phips when his divers fell ill returned to
Bermuda, and the secret was blown abroad among the
islands of the Caribbean Sea. Expeditions from
Jamaica and other islands were hurriedly fitted out,
and vast treasure was taken up that was never
accounted for in England. In more exalted quarters the
matter made as great a stir. The Prince of Orange
straightway began to make ready a ship to be under
the command of Lord Mordaunt. Humbler folk, too,
lost their heads at the thought of such sudden riches,
and patents in fabulous numbers were granted for
like expeditions into which those who could ill afford
it put their little all. Stories of rich ships were on
every credulous tongue. Shares were sold in these
ventures, and particularly sought after were those of
ships ' said to be in the possession of the Devil.' ^
* So, in the end,' says Sloane, ' though the money
brought into England from the first wreck was very
considerable, yet much more was lost on projects of
the same nature.' The Gentlemen Adventurers went
serenely on their way, proudly conscious that the
Duke of Albemarle's patent, under the Great Seal,
now included all ' Wreck, Jetsam, Flotsam and Lagan
and goods derelict, Gold, merchandize and other
goods and chattells which had been before or since the
eighteenth day of July One thousand Six hundred
Eighty Six, or which before the Eighteenth of July One
1 Sloane, Introduction to A Voyage to the Islands of Madeira, Bar-
badoes, etc. (1707).
i687] A HARDY MAN OF ACTION 255
thousand Six Hundred Eighty Nine, Should be left,
cast away, wrecked or lost by shipwreck or otherwise
in or upon any of the Rocks, Shelves, Shoales,
Seas or Bancks to the Windward or on the North
Side of Hispaniola or about the Islands or Shoals
of Bahama or in or near the Gulf of Florida in
America.' ^
While the Adventurers counted their gold and the
rest of the world sighed with envy, one soul felt de-
frauded, and refused to submit meekly to the for-
getfulness of his betters. Poor Smith ! His name
ushers in the tragic note of this seventeenth-century
comedy. The Gentlemen Adventurers took and used
his information, and rewarded him with the empty
glory of having his name mentioned in the same
breath with the best in England, and conveniently
forgot to pay him his two-sixteenths of the treasure.
True he had not signed the Articles of Agreement, and
had no capital to invest save his knowledge of the
location of the wreck. This sailor was a hardy man
of action, and he made such a noise and commotion
over his wrongs that the matter was brought before
the Privy Council sitting at Hampton Court Palace,
July 16, 1687. A large and brilliant company were
present to hear the petition of one John Smith, now
styled a merchant of London. * With the King's
most Excellent Majesty,' the Council Register re-
cords, ' were gathered the Lord Chancellor, the Lord
President, the Lord Privy Seal, the Duke of Ormond,
the Duke of Albemarle, the Marquis of Powys, the
Lord Chamberlain, the Earle of Peterborow, the
Earls of Bath, Craven, Rochester, Moray, Middleton,
Melford, Lord Belasys, Lord Dartmouth and Mr.
Chancellor of the Exchequer.' * Upon hearing the
matter by Council learned upon either side,' the case
^ Bodleian Library, Rawlinson A, 189, fo. 370.
256 THE TREASURE SHIP [book vii.
was sent to the Court of Chancery.* The matter
was finally settled when both sides agreed that one-
fourth part of Smith's two -sixteenths should go to
Albemarle, who engaged to pay Smith's share of the
charge.^
Early in August, armed with many formidable
documents, Sir John Narborough in the Foresight
hurried back to the Western Sea to seek for further
fortune.^ The Good Luck and the Boy Huzzar{?),
under command of Sir William Phips, accompanied
the expedition.*
Whatever has been said of the Duke of Albemarle,
he stands alone as a treasure-seeker. He alone of all
those who through four hundred years have sent out
ships to search the sea for lost plate-ships gained in
return a fortune worthy to be recalled. As has been
said, he received some ninety thousand pounds in
bullion, and his fortunes must have thereby been
restored in a marked degree and his prestige increased
correspondingly.
^ Privy Council Register, James ii., Part ii., April 4, 1687, to
December 16, 1688.
* ' The Respondent's Case in an appeal to the Lords. The Viscount-
ess Falkland, executrix of the late Ld. Falkland, Sir Cloudesly Shovell,
and Dame Ehzabeth his wife, executrix of Sir John Narborough,
Kt., Francis Nicolson, Esq., and others. Appellants. William, Lord
Cheney, Sir Walter Clarges, Dr. Peter Berwick and others, surviving
executors of Christopher late Duke of Albemarle, Respondants. To be
heard on Tues. Dec. 12, 1704.' — Brit. Mus. 816 M 5, p. 61.
' All Souls College, Oxford, ccxlvii., fo. 117. Patent dated February
24, 168^, among papers bequeathed to the College in the last part of
the eighteenth century by Luttrell Wynne, D.C.L., formerly fellow of
AJl Souls. These papers consist of more than a hundred volumes of
Parliamentary journals, State and other papers, the collection of
Narcissus Luttrell, and letters to Owen Wynne, D.C.L., secretary to
Sir Leoline Jenkins, when ambassador to the Hague and Cologne, and
Secretary of State in Charles 11. 's reign.
* A fragment of the patent for the Good Luck and the Boy Huzzar
now forms part of a pocket-book once the property of Colonel Joseph
Ward (1736-1812). This torn piece of parchment is the foundation of
this book.
1687] FURTHER SEARCH FOR TREASURE 257
To prosecute further expeditions in search of wrecks
redoubled Albemarle's desire to betake himself to
Jamaica. Did some curse from dead Spanish lips
lie upon this sunken gold ? No real happiness ever
again visited the Albemarles after it came into their
possession.
BOOK VIII
THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA
' Young colonies, like tender plants, should be cherished
and dealt easily with, it being better to put soil to their
roots than to pluck too early fruit.'
Sir Thomas Lynch, Governor of Jamaica.
CHAPTER I
The Duke had held his commission as Governor for
many months, but until aroused to increased interest
by his West Indian venture he had taken few steps
toward assuming his duties. After the unhurried
manner of the time, he pursued his leisurely course
without fear of criticism from King or ministers of
state.
For a year or more he had held the circular letter
to colonial governors ordering the publication of the
Royal Declaration of Indulgence and a proclamation
ordering the Suppression of Pirates, neither of which
were edicts likely to be popular in Jamaica.
His commission making him ' Governor, Lieu-
tenant-General, and General of our Island of Jamaica,'
covered much parchment, and was dated November
25, 1686. It fairly bristled with instructions to the
new official, and was loaded with special privileges.^
It explained that the government of Jamaica was to
consist of a Governor, a Council of seven Jamaicans
(five being a quorum), who were to be 'men of good
life and estates, not necessitous persons, or much in
debt.' In order to fill places made vacant, by death
or suspension, Albemarle was requested to keep a
list of names of ehgible men in England, where appoint-
ments to this Council were confirmed.^ The Govern-
ment further consisted of an elective assembly * in the
* Patent Rolls, 2 James 11., Part xi. 6 dorse; Cal. State Papers, Col.,
1685-8, § 1026.
* One of Albemarle's earliest grievances lay in the fact that he could
not appoint councillors without confirmation in England.
S
262 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
nature of a Parliament,' as one of the old letters
describes it.^
The Governor's powers were large. He was able
to veto laws, statutes, and ordinances. He could
adjourn, prorogue, and dissolve the Assembly. He
was Keeper of the Public Seal, and could administer
the oath of allegiance. With the advice of the
Council he was empowered to establish Courts of
Justice, civil and criminal, and he alone appointed
judges, justices of the peace, and ministers. Except
for treason and wilful murder, he might grant par-
dons and always reprieve a prisoner until the King's
will was known. Ministers for the churches, chapels,
and ecclesiastical benefices when vacant were in his
appointment, although his authority in this seems to
conflict with the powers of the Bishop of London.
As commander-in-chief of all the island mihtia, he
had full mihtary authority, and in case of war might
order his forces to any part of the American planta-
tions. In addition, he was desired to fortify and build
castles in his domain for its defence. As the crowning
point of his oiHcial dignities, he was created Vice-
Admiral of the Western Seas, under direct orders
from the King or the Lord High Admiral, with power
of suspending and appointing the King's naval
officers.
With the winter months came an interlude of other
business. The King now quite openly endeavoured to
return his subjects to the Roman faith. Cambridge
University early became a mark for his attack. The
loyalty of this ancient seat of learning could not be
disputed. On the King's accession they had evinced
their devotion by a lengthy address, and not many
years since they had gone to the extreme of publicly
^ George Keid to Father Churchill, CO. i : 65, No. S3 ; Cal. Stale
Papers, Col., § 1928.
1687] AN APPEAL TO THE CHANCELLOR 263
burning a portrait by Kneller of their late Chancellor,
Monmouth, to signify their abhorrence of his treason.
On Ash Wednesday of 1687 the King wrote to this
University a letter commanding that Alban Francis,
a Benedictine monk, be admitted as Master of Arts
without taking the oaths of supremacy and obedi-
ence prescribed by law.^ Alarmed by this mandate.
Dr. Peachell, Vice-Chancellor of the University and
master of Magdalene College, wrote, in haste, to the
Chancellor, the Duke of Albemarle, begging his in-
tercession with the King on their behalf. The Duke
did his part, but was obliged to write in return that
he had been received by the King coldly and un-
graciously. He could only add expressions of con-
cern, and suggest that a petition to the King signed by
the Senate might be of service. Meanwhile Father
Francis had publicly declined to take the oaths, and
consequently had been refused his degree. Instantly
he took horse for Whitehall to lay his grievance
before the King. Not many miles behind him rode
an esquire beadle who took counsel with the Duke of
Albemarle on behalf of the University, but was refused
admittance to Lord Sunderland, the King's principal
Secretary of State. On February 24, the King wrote
a second time reiterating his command, but the
University Senate for various reasons failed to read
this letter until March 11. After careful but speedy
discussion two gentlemen ^ of their number were
dispatched to London. At Albemarle's house in
Clerkenwell they delivered a letter from Dr. Peachell
bearing the direction, ' Mr. Fairwell, in absence, for
any other of the chief domestics to be speedily com-
^ A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings upon High
Treason, 3rd ed., London, 1742, vol. iv. pp. 254-62.
2 Mr. Braddock, Fellow of Katherine's Hall and Mr. Stanhope of
King's College.
264 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
municated to his Grace.' This letter brought news
of what * extraordinary affairs ' were taking place at
the University, and set forth at length such arguments
as were thought might prevail with the King. * The
Sovereign's second letter,' wrote the Vice-Chancellor,
* doth wonderfully afflict us not knowing how to
avoid either his sacred majesty's displeasure or the
censure and condemnation of our own consciences. I
pray God direct us, for we design uprightly and
loyally.' After quoting Acts of Parliament which in
no unmistakable words defined their course the Duke
was besought to aid ' if he knows how conveniently
both to help and council us.' The closing words of
this letter breathe the solemn portent of the moment.
* May Almighty God bless our dread Sovereign, our
gracious Chancellor, and this loyal University.'
This appeal to their Chancellor met with loyal re-
sponse. The gentlemen from Cambridge waited upon
the Duke on Sunday, March 13, and were received
with 'all the goodness in the world.' He assured
them that ' notwithstanding he had waited on the
King before and knew his inclinations, nay though
he had been received with something of displeasure,
yet considering the relation he bore (them) he would
make another attempt and thought himself obliged
to omit no endeavours for the University's safty and
advantage.*
These courageous words spoken by the Duke
pledged him to a course of action which might undo
in a moment all the carefully constructed fabric of his
renewed prestige. Yet next evening he fearlessly be-
took himself to Whitehall accompanied by the two
emissaries from Cambridge, whom he left in an ante-
room, hoping an occasion could be found to present
them. The Duke then waited upon the King ' in the
passage toward the Bedchamber,' the scene of his
i687] COURAGEOUS WORDS 265
rebuff of nearly two years before. The King listened
to the Duke's words, but told him he had not then
leisure for discussion ; but he took the Vice-Chancellor's
latest letter to read and was seen with it in his hand
as he passed through the rooms. The King spent the
evening with the Queen-Dowager, and Albemarle had
no further opportunity for conversation . He returned
to the disappointed gentlemen in the ante-room, and
in discourse with them found that he could oblige
them by gaining them an audience with Lord Sunder-
land. Through the agency of the Duke's Gentleman
of the Horse and the Earl's Secretary, an interview
was arranged for the morning following. All this
effort was to little purpose. The King chose to be
offended by Dr. Peachell's letter. Cases where the
degree of Master of Arts had been conferred on those
of different faith who had not taken the oaths were
cited as establishing a precedent. Among these was
Albemarle's former guest, the Mohammedan Ambas-
sador from Morocco. The Vice-Chancellor and
certain representatives of the University Senate^
found themselves summoned to appear before the
new High Commission at Westminster and face its
presiding officer, the Lord Chancellor Jeffreys. The
unfortunate Dr. Peachell, unused to such abuse as
Lord Jeffreys heaped upon him, was easily silenced,
and he was deprived of his offices and emoluments in
punishment for his offence against the King. Small
wonder that Albemarle pleaded for his University
without success, when the venerable and revered Duke
of Ormonde vainly protested in like cases concerning
Oxford University and Charterhouse. It was but
too evident to the Duke of Albemarle that he had
jeopardised in vain the position he had regained with
' One of these gentlemen was Sir Isaac Newton, Fellow of Trinity
College and Professor of Mathematics.
266 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
such difficulty, and he must have at once reahsed that
he could hope to accomplish nothing in England for
himself or others while the King persisted in his
present policy. He therefore busied himself anew
with the Jamaica governorship. For hopeful of
rich returns from future search for treasure, the King
was prodigal of such favours as would increase the
Duke's interest in the West Indies. On the very
day, March ii, of the reading of the King's second
letter by the University Senate, the Duke received
another royal patent under the Privy Seal, granting
him all mines of gold or silver and all royal mines
whatsoever, and ' . . . mynes of lead, gum, copper
and other mynes, and minerals and veins of Saltpetre
and all Earthes, Soiles or Ground for the making of
Saltpetre and all Mineralls, Earthes, Stones, and Salts
whatsoever, whether the same or any of them be
ready opened or discovered or not opened or dis-
covered within all and every our plantations or
Colonyes in America or Colonies of New England,
Virginia and all parts Northward of our Colonye of
Carolina.'
These privileges were granted for a period of fifty-
one years. In return, Albemarle was obliged to pay
one-sixth of the gold and silver, and one-tenth of the
minerals mined, into the King's private exchequer.
One-sixth of the saltpetre must go to the stores of the
Office of the Ordnance. These mining operations
were to be started within three years or the grant
would be void.i Fancy the wrath of the colonists at
this wholesale disposal of their mineral riches !
It was not until May 7 that another patent
came from the office of the Privy Seal. This gave
Albemarle power to confer knighthood during his
governorship in the island of Jamaica, with all
* Patent Roll, 3 James 11., Part 11. 5.
i687] THE GENERALISSIMO 267
the honour accruing to the recipient as if conferred
by the King himself.^ Albemarle might now feel
that he possessed full viceregal powers, and when
the treasure ship returned he was in a way to
demand many more concessions. His next parch-
ments refer exclusively to the wreck, and the further
search for lost treasure. These are many and of
wearisome length and weight.
In July he received a patent making him com-
mander-in-chief of all forces in any colony he might
visit, and for so long as he remained there. Conse-
quently his passage out to his Government must be
interrupted to exercise these functions and review all
troops, both regular and of the militia. Hereafter he
is often spoken of as * our Generalissimo.'
As the time for departure drew nigh Albemarle
began to realise the irksome nature of the regulation
which prevented governors from returning to England
without special permission from the Home Govern-
ment. He made haste to remedy this evil, in his
own case, by persuading the King to give him a
permission to return to England whenever he pleased,
and for whatever reason might seem good to him.
He, moreover, took care to interpolate a paragraph
which stipulated that coasting about Jamaica and
visits to the wreck should not be considered absence
from his Government.
On August 15 many pages of final instructions were
sent to him. 2 Trade of all kinds was to be encouraged,
great emphasis being laid upon his care for the Royal
African Company,^ which was at all times to receive
special protection. The Governor must see to it that
the Company be paid either in money or commodities.
^ Patent Roll, 4 James 11., Part iv. 20.
^ State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1404.
^ See p. 285.
268 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
Outsiders must be prevented from engaging in the
slave-trade, and royal frigates ordered to escort the
slave-ships to ports in the Spanish possessions where
good markets might be found. Diego Mozet, agent
for the Spanish slave-dealers, was to be allowed to
settle in Jamaica. Even more emphasis was laid
upon the privileges of Colonel Render Molesworth,^
Deputy-Governor and factor of the said Royal African
Company. 2 This gentleman was not to be hindered
in returning to England in case of any dispute be-
tween him and Albemarle while settling accounts,
and no more than five thousand pounds bond for
security was to be exacted from him.
Still another military commission accompanied
these orders strengthening his position as mihtary
commander of militia in his island Government.
This seems to have been issued only to gild the dis-
tasteful order contained in the paragraph which
followed :
* You are to give all protection, countenance and
encouragement to our Roman Catholic Subjects in
our Island of Jamaica. And Particularly unto Dr.
Churchill whom we have appointed Chief Pastor over
them in that our Island, unto whom you are to give
credit and assistance as there shall be occasion. He
(Dr. Churchill) has permission to go to any part of
the Plantations of America in case of illness for the
recovery of his health.' ^
This is the first mention of this Roman Catholic
priest, Dr. Churchill. In spite of his different faith,
he became Albemarle's good friend and staunch
supporter in the troublous days to come; but he was
not numbered among the Duke's personal attendants,
and did not come to Jamaica until after the Duke's
^ Acting Governor of Jamaica until Albemarle's arrival.
2 See p. 288.
* CO. 138 : 5, pp. 333-.^ ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1404.
1687] NEW FAVOURS 269
arrival.^ It has been asserted that Albemarle had
at last succumbed to his royal master's persuasions
and had gone over to the Church of Rome. In the
records of his Jamaica governorship there is little
suggestion of such being the case. His personal
chaplain was appointed by the Bishop of London,
Henry Compton, who writes that he has another
chaplain * ready to attend him when he taks his
voyage a very ingenious man one Mr. Arwaker de-
siring that honour ' ; ^ and this man's name, differently
spelled, heads the list of supernumeraries on the
Assistance. His secretary, Mr. Latton, was also
presumably a clergyman of the Church of England,^
as he is said to have been unable to take the oaths
in the time of William and Mary.'*
One last patent the Duke now demanded and
received. The great forests of America remained
practically untouched, except by the pioneer's axe.
To Albemarle's alert eye here lay a further chance
for riches. Some new invention for running saw-mills
by the power of the wind had possibly come to his
notice. He was of an inventive turn of mind, and
had made some practical suggestions in improving
the primitive diving-bell of the period.^ The
1 Captains' Logs, 68; Log-Book of the Assistance, Public Record
Office.
* Hist. MSS. Com., i^ih Report, Montagu of Beaulieu MSS., p. 199.
3 Welbeck MSS., Letter of Dr. Stratford to the Earl of Oxford,
June 12, 1726.
* William Latton left a tribute to his master which should be noticed.
It was written January 10, 1727-8, thirty years after the Duke of
Albemarle's death, when Latton had received but tardy justice by
order of the House of Lords : ' I shall have enough (money) to lay down
my grey hairs cheerfully, especially having now lived to see my services
thus owned by the Lords' Committees, . . . and my faithful endeavours
for my dear master the Duke of Albemarle so far justified by all but
his executors, whom the Almighty forgive.' — Nichol's Literary History,
iv. p. 734. Letter to Dr. Moss, Dean of Ely.
^ Dryden's Works (Walter Scott's edition, 1808), vol. ix. pp. 394-5>
' Absalom and Achitophel,' Note xxvii.
270 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
monopoly for all saw-mills in America run by this
new process now became his for a period of fourteen
years. All the returns from the project were to be
for his own personal use,^ The turbulent New
England Colonies were alone excepted from this grant.
One final benefaction followed this patent. Two
thousand pounds were given him as emolument for
the year or more that had already passed of his
governorship. In spite of this unearned salary, he
felt himself ill-used when it was decided that the
perquisites rightfully belonged to the acting Governor,
Hender Molesworth, in far Jamaica.
Although the Duke of Albemarle showed himself,
in his official capacity, so successful in securing every
privilege that came within his ken, his private affairs
were in a far from happy state. The new will, which
had been discussed these two years and had been
six months in the making, still remained unsigned.
The Duchess and her agents redoubled their im-
portunities, as the time for sailing for Jamaica drew
near. Nor would the lady hear of a retreat from the
sale of Dalby and Broughton. Disoblige the Lord
Chancellor Jeffreys ? How could the Duke think of
such a thing ? we fancy we hear her say. But Lord
Bath quite openly accused her of systematically plan-
ning to enlarge the Duke's personal estate at the ex-
pense of his landed property, as in the event of her
husband's death she would be the gainer thereby.
July 4 (1687) brought the culmination of Albe-
marle's troubles. This was the day appointed for
signing the deeds of transfer of the manors of Dalby
and Broughton. It was arranged that Albemarle
and Jeffreys should meet with Sir Robert Clayton, ^
^ Patent Rolls, 3 James 11., Part 11. 13.
* Clayton has been accused of enricliing himself on the Duke of
Buckingham's necessities.
1687] UNDUE PRACTICES 271
* that prodigious rich scrivener,' ^ at his house in
the Old Jewry, * build ... for a great magis-
trate at excessive cost.' ^ The story of this day's
transactions was told in Court some ten years later.
The torn parchments and papers in the Public
Record Office, which preserve the evidence of the
great Chancery suit, bear many a sentence indelibly
struck out by a later hand. All of these blotted words
seem to relate to Albemarle's condition on that
momentous day. The evidence of Lord Bath and
the comments of Mr. Baron Powell go to prove that
the Duke went to the appointment not only much
against his will, but * was drawn there unto by undue
practices.' ^ He was accompanied by the agents of
the Duchess from Newcastle House to the mansion
in Old Jewry. His state of mind is variously com-
mented upon. Mr. Baron Powell, after hearing much
evidence, comments : ' He was in a fretting, discon-
tented humour.' ^ Lord Bath, who talked with the
Duke for some time later in the day, testified that
' He was in a great transport of discontent.'
Lord Bath had been bidden to be present at the
transfer of the manors, but arrived too late. He was
ushered into the presence of Sir Robert Clayton, who
informed him that the deeds were signed, the Lord
Chancellor gone, and the Duke withdrawn into an
inner room with Sir Thomas Stringer. The two
remained in talk, awaiting the Duke's return, and
Sir Robert went on to say that * The Duke had
looked so disturbed at the signing of the conveyance
to Lord Jeffreys as that he thought not fit to
invite them to a collation which he had prepared
for them.'
Behind the doors of that inner room, the Duke was
^ Evelyn, Diary, September 26, 1672, and note. ^ Ibid,
* Chan. Froc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9. * Ibid.
272 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
at last at bay. Sir Thomas Stringer, full of plausible
arguments, would no longer put off the signing of the
will. He had brought as witnesses his son, his son-
in-law, and a minion of the Duchess. To the Duke's
last feeble struggles to postpone the inevitable, Sir
Thomas replied that * to-morrow he was to be gone
on the Northern Circuit and so could not be at the
execution of it.' So the Duke gave way, but not
' till after much urging and solicitation.' ^ The only
comment on this curious occasion must be that the
Duke, worn out by continual prodding, believing that
this will could not hold good and had no legal value,
signed his name. He was still a young man, not yet
thirty-four, and in spite of his present bad health
without a thought of early death. Indeed, the
Duchess seemed likely to predecease him, and in that
event he could make what further will he pleased.
This present signing would give him the respite he
needed for his preparations for Jamaica.
These same preparations went busily on throughout
July and August, although the Duke was now as
seriously ill as the Duchess. Dr. Barwick had per-
suaded a young physician, who had lately completed
his studies, to accept the position of medical attendant
to the Jamaican expedition. This was no other than
Dr. Hans Sloane, whose great collections formed part
of the nucleus of the British Museum. He, with
Dr. Barwick, Dr. Brown, and Mr. Hobbs, sat in
consultation on the Duke's case. Their verdict
announced that he must drink less and sleep more.
The Duke little heeded this advice, for many splendid
entertainments were being given for him, not only to
celebrate his success as a treasure-seeker, but to cheer
one who was so soon to be lost among the wilds of
colonial life. The King himself had entertained him
^ Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9.
i687] THE ROYAL FRIGATE ASSISTANCE 273
at dinner at the camp on Hounslow Heath, ^ where he
saw the new standing army which the King reviewed
nearly ever>' day, riding over from Windsor for the
purpose. He had sat for the last time in the House
of Lords, the Privy Council would see his face no
more. Already Lady Essex and Sir Joseph William-
son were wrangling for possession of his deserted
pew in the gallery of the new and fashionable Church
of St. James's in the Fields (Piccadilly).
Early in September, all preparations were at length
completed. The royal frigate Assistance, Lawrence
Wright, commander, forty-four guns, two hundred
seamen, awaited the ducal party at Portsmouth.
She was laden with provisions in plenty, for her log-
book records : ^
* 20 Tons of Beer
25 Tons — Iron bound Beer
2 Tons in wood
8 Tons — Sea Beer
2 Chests of Candles
Powder and Amunition
300 bags of Bread, Oatmeale and Pease, Currents
and flower.
Butter and cheese
20 Tuns of Water
A Lighter of wood.'
The ship had been carefully prepared for the voyage
and temporary cabins built for the ladies. The Duke
carried with him five hundred tons of goods and one
hundred servants, the furniture for a chapel, books
of homilies, and the Thirty-nine Articles. These last-
named in such numbers that each church on the
island should have its copy. Graceless as he was,
he exacted every Bible and hymn-book set down in
his patent.
* Nation Correspondence, July I2, 1687.
* Log-book of the A ssistance.
274 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
The Duke's gold dressing plate was packed.^ The
many chests needed to contain the patents, grants and
commissions — stiff parchments, heavy with seals —
stood ready for embarking. ^ Safe at Newhall were left
the patent for the treasure ship, and in orderly array
the deeds to all his lands, his commissions, and those
of his father before him, 'bundles of ancient writing and
bags of old letters.' ^ As much business still remained
to be transacted in connection with the treasure ship,
the Duke placed his interests in the hands of certain
trustees — the Duke of Newcastle, the Earls of Bath,
Bridge water and Craven, Lord Cheyne and his son
William, Gervase Pierrepont, Sir Walter Clarges and
Mr. Bowers.
It was probably September 5 when the Duke of
Albemarle last appeared amid his old surroundings.
^ Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 193, No. 45, August 23, 1708.
« CO., I : 62, No. 83a ; Cal. State Papers, Col, 1685-8, § 1332.
' List of papers, etc., delivered to his Grace the Duke of Albemarle
upon his going to Jamaica.
' His Majestie's instructions, dated 15 Mar. 168S.
' Additional Instructions, 3 July 1687.
' An Order in Council, dated 3 November, 1680, touching absence of
governors in the plantations.
' Copy of an Order, dated 10 December, 1682, for allowance of half
salary and half perquisites to the lieutenant governor during the
governor's absence.
' A printed book of treaties, containing the treaty of Madrid (1670)
with Spain touching differences in America.
' A Letter from the Lords of the Committee of Trade and Plantations
with his Maj tie's Declaration for Liberty of Conscience.
' An account of Stores sent from the office of the Ordinance since
December 1676.
' Received this 5th day of July 1687 the forementioned papers. —
Albemarle.'
This list was signed the day following the making of his last will,
July 4, 1687, and the name is written rather feebly.
3 Bodleian Library, Rawlinson A, 289, fo. 134; Rawlinson D, 923, fo.
112. Schedules of writings taken from Newhall in 1689 and 1690 in
connection with the controversy over the will. It should be noticed
that the Rawhnson who presented these manuscripts to the Bodleian
was a beneficiary under the Duke of Albemarle's will, being an heir of
Curwin Rawlinson and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas Monck.
168;] THE LAST VISIT OF THE DUKE 275
All was ready for the departure for Portsmouth on
the morrow. He took his way to ' St. James's to the
Earl of Bath's house ' to ' take his leave of the Earle
and his lady.' ^ Perhaps he wore the gorgeous
costume of the portrait by John Riley. ^ Dr. Barwick
records in one of his letters that a portrait of the Duke
remained unfinished on his departure for Jamaica,
and this may be the one, for the costume seems to
be by a hand other than that which painted the face.^
Here we see him clad in satin curiously embroidered
in gold thread ; the sleeves of his coat, elaborately
decorated with rows of seed pearls, are finished at the
wrist with puffs about the hands and ruffles edged
with rich Venetian lace. He wears an enormous wig,
and his high-heeled shoes show beautifully jewelled
buckles. A great blue velvet mantle, satin lined,
is tied with golden cords and tassels. His tall
feathered hat stands on the chequered pavement at
his feet. Did he wear his gold buttons set with
diamonds and his great jewel-hilted sword ? Or,
on this peaceful errand, the walking-stick, with its
gold knob set with diamonds ? * One dwells on the
splendour of the apparel on this autumn day, for the
face that looks forth from the great wig is no longer the
bright face of the young Duke. The days of illness,
the constant irritation of his home life, the humihation
of his years of financial embarrassment, and, above all,
* the sitting up late and often making merry with his
friends,' have done their work. And now at thirty-
four, * he is of a sanguine complexion, his face reddish
and his eyes yellow as also his skin.' ^
At the Earl of Bath's house all was friendly regret
1 Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9. Answers of the Hon.
Bernard Grenville, Esq.
2 Welbeck Abbe^', No. 414. ^ Montagu House MSS.
* Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 193, No. 45, August 23, 1708.
* Brit. Mus., Sloane MSS., 3984, fos. 282-4.
276 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
over his departure. With the Grenville family he
was ever soothed and at his best. Here too came the
Hon. Bernard Grenville, his old friend and companion,
to * wait on him,' The words of farewell were at
length said, and the two friends, the Duke and Bernard
Grenville, left the house together ' and did walk from
thence over St. James' Parke to Whitehall.' And,
* in his passing over the Parke,' Mr. Grenville, brought
to a moment of frank confidence with his boyhood's
friend, took occasion to murmur some words of thanks
for the provision made for him by the Duke in his
new will, and mentioned that Sir Thomas Stringer had
told him of it ^nd that the gift had been inserted in
the will at the suggestion of Sir Thomas, * unto which
the Duke replied with some reflections on Sir Thomas
Stringer, that he had not dealt well with him (Gren-
ville), for that he had never moved him (Albemarle)
on his behalf, but however he (Albemarle) had taken
care of him. Grenville would find the effect of his
kindness and withal said, " Your brother (meaning the
Earl of Bath) can tell you when and how, and I refer
you to him in case of my death, and farther you may
acquaint your brother with what I say before I go, if
you please." ' Of course, Mr. Grenville lost no time
in consulting his brother, and discovered that the Duke
if he died without issue had settled an estate upon
him, the manor of Clewer. So the friends went on to
the Palace where all was drowsy, for the Court was at
Gloucester.
Next day the Duke and Duchess set out for Ports-
mouth, where they arrived on Thursday the 8th.
On Saturday the Duke went on board the Assistance
to give order how he would have the cabins ' disposed
of,' ^ while the Duchess wrote in a trembhng hand one
last letter to her sister Margaret.
• Log-book of the Assislance.
i687] A LETTER OF FAREWELL 277
' Ye 10 oj Septembr, PORCHMOUTH.
* Deare Sister, — You have reson to exspet I
should take leve of you som way and sences I am
deprived of seeing you, ye next best is heareing from
me and to asure you theire is not won leveing in ye
world that loves you better then I doe and am ready
to testtyfi it apon proufe whenever I am caled. I
beech (beseech) God to presarve you and send you
happyley disposed of whatevuer becoms of me. Wee
are just parting from Eingland. Pray Deare give my
affection to sister Bell.^ God bless her. I am at all
times, Your afifectionate sister,
* E. Albemarle.'
* For the Lady Margrite Cavendyske
at Welbeck.
' Leve this with post master at Tuxford, Noting-
chamshire.' {Seal.) ^
On Monday, September 12, the Duke and Duchess
went on board in state, and at half-past two the
Assistance set sail, accompanied by the Duke's yacht,
carrying his servants and store of provisions and two
merchantmen as convoy. But they sailed only to
take shelter from the bad weather behind the Isle of
Wight. Once more they weighed anchor, and were
again driven back this time to St. Helen's Roads out-
side Plymouth Harbour. Here they tossed about
from September 19 until October 5. An ocean
voyage in the seventeenth century was not a thing
to be lightly undertaken, or hurriedly carried to its
end. Contrary winds respected no man. The whole
party were grievously sea-sick and depressed by rainy
weather. The first fair day brought a party of
gentlemen from Plymouth to visit the Duke. They
came to condole and also to take farewell. For, on
October 5, the ships finally weighed anchor to the
1 Lady Arabella Cavendish, wife of Charles, Lord Spencer, 1673-
98. He became the third Earl of Sunderland, 1702.
2 Welbeck MSS.
T
278 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
sound of heavy salutes. Twenty-one guns from the
Citadel, St. Nicholas Island, and the men-of-war
in the harbour saluted the departing Governor.
When they had passed the Lizard and were out upon
the broad Atlantic, the Duke ordered his Admiral's
flag ' hoisted on the main top mast and several huzzas
and guns discharged at drinking his Grace's, the Duke
of Albemarle's health who was then Vice Admiral
of those seas.' The ships in company likewise showed
their respect in discharging their guns by way of
salute to the flag, and the like was done by * some ships
bound for Guina who kept company with the Frigate
to avoid hazard from the Sully men-of-war, who are
very busy about these parts. One who was some
leagues ahead hauld up his sails and lay by till the
Frigate was passed, when he likewise by a salute of
all his guns paid that respect due to the English
Commander of those Seas.' ^
Thus was the voyage begun most prosperously, and
had the entire party not been so very sea-sick all
would have been merry-making. The wonders of the
deep were a constant source of surprise to scientific
Dr. Hans Sloane. He carefully records the sight of
the grampus and ^porpoises playing about the ship ;
flying fish and the chambered nautilus. At night the
light sparkling on the water at the ship's stern
awakened his curiosity, and the adventures of a lark
discovered in the rigging he describes at length.
Sailing directly south for many days, they hoped to
find Madeira. But such was the uncertainty of
navigation at that time that no one knew exactly
where these islands lay, and a consultation was called
by the Duke of all the captains and oldest seamen
aboard the ships to get information as to their where-
abouts. Finally an old captain, who had made the
' Sloane, Introduction to A Voyage to Madeira.
i687] CONTRARY WINDS ^79
voyage many times, gave his word of advice, which,
being fortunately followed, they reached Madeira and
took on more wine and provisions.^
The hot, sultry weather of the tropics bore heavily
upon all these children from grey England, and when
they reached Barbadoes, in spite of royal salutes and
great parties planned by the Governor, the heavy
tropic rains all but spoilt the visit. Though Dr.
Sloane, the Duke's travelling physician, felt * that all
his fatigues had been well bestowed when he ate
at desert after dinner the strange tropical fruits
shaddocs, quavos, pines and mangoes, and other un-
known fruits in Europe.' The strange fruits proved
unfortunate to the travelling Governor, for he had a
violent attack of illness at the Barbadoes, and again
at Nevis, and kept his physician very busy for some
days. Nevertheless, the Duke in view of his com-
mission as Generalissimo never failed to exercise the
militia at every port, and make notes of their condition
for his official report to the King. The Duke and
Duchess had won all hearts on the ships, and when-
ever they disembarked they received not only official
salutes of cannon, but cheers from the crew. Another
cause of comfort met them at Barbadoes. As they
sailed into the harbour, they beheld Sir John Nar-
borough with the Foresight, and Captain Phips and
his ships, the Good Luck and Boy Huzzar, ready to
return to the wreck. But the Duke, though he
diligently inquired for minerals, found none of the
gold mines for which he had bargained.
On December 19, having been four months on the
way, they entered Port Royal harbour and were re-
ceived by salvos of artillery ; the militia turned out
1 ' ^Vhen passing the Tropic, the seamen demanded Tropic money
for drink from those who had never crossed before. The penalty to
be ducked thrice from the yard arm.' — Sloane, Introduction to A
Voyage to Madeira.
28o THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
to escort them, the Deputy-Governor and all the
principal planters hurried on board to pay their
respects. But on landing, the Duke was disgusted
to find that neither of the two houses supplied by the
Government for his habitation was fit to live in, and
he was obliged to rent a house of the Deputy-Governor
in which to begin housekeeping. It was now the
turn of the Deputy-Governor to reimburse himself
for lost perquisites, and he proceeded to overcharge
the Duke for house rent and necessities. It was not
until the 26th that the Duke and Duchess left the
ship for this house in Port Royal. -^
Early in the preceding spring, the Minutes of the
Council at Jamaica report the plans for the reception
of the new Governor:
* who being a great peer of the Realm of England it
would become them to consider of receiving his Grace
according to his quality as far as the Place was
capable of it.' ^
Three days* entertainment at the public charge was
planned. All this was delightfully carried out, the
Duchess receiving quite her share of gallant elo-
quence. Her presence, the provincial orator de-
claimed, ' was an honour which the opulent kingdoms
of Peru and Mexico would never arrive at, and
Columbus' ghost would be appeased for all the in-
dignities he suffered from the Spaniards, could he
but know that his beloved soil was hallowed by such
footsteps.' ^
These days of general joy and amity were short-
lived. Albemarle, before leaving England, had been
approached by agents of the discontented party in
Jamaica, and into his ear had been poured a strange
tale of abuse of privilege and decaying fortunes.
' Log-book of Assistance.
» CO., 140 : 4, pp. 168-9 ; (^^l- •^'^'^ Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1220.
' Bridges, Annals 0/ Jamaica, vol. i. p. 297.
CHAPTER II
To understand the problems now confronting
Albemarle, some review of the history and condition
of the colony of Jamaica is necessary.
The island had come into English possession during
the Commonwealth days. On the Restoration, many
Puritan soldiers who had fought for Cromwell and
Monck, finding England no longer a safe or a con-
genial home, had emigrated to the American colonies.
* Of these, not a few had found refuge in Jamaica.
Taking up lands, they set themselves to the task of
raising sugar-cane, and resigned themselves to the
delights of planter life. Soldiers are notoriously bad
colonists, and these seasoned warriors — the fires of
strife unquenched by the languor of the tropics —
saw with covetous eyes the wealth of the Spaniards
lying unguarded before them. They embraced with
avidity the life of the free buccaneers enjoyed by so
many of the islanders of the Spanish Main. ' From
strict saints (they) are turned to the most debauched
devils,' writes Sir Thomas Modyford, Governor in
those early days.^
Under the leadership of the famous Henry
Morgan, who was himself a sugar planter in his
more peaceful moments, they harried the Spaniards
to their own enrichment and that of those much
higher in authority.^ Sir Thomas Modyford, second
^ Quoted by Collins. ' The Royal African Company/ in Report of
the Am. Hist. Assoc, 1900, vol. i. p. 141.
* Gardiner, History of Jamaica, p. 50.
881
282 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
cousin of George Monck, was Governor of Jamaica,
and his orders gave him leave to show great leniency
toward his freebooting colonists. When the Spanish
governors protested, he mildly chided the erring ones.
Gossip said that not only General George Monck,^
but the King 2 himself received shares of the buc-
caneers' booty, and it was inexpedient for the
Governor to interfere with their gains. As the Home
Government kept no naval force in the Caribbean
Sea for the protection of their island possessions,
the buccaneers formed a colonial navy of formidable
strength, and prevented inroads of the French and
Spanish. Jamaica flourished in those days. When
a victorious expedition returned. Port Royal cele-
brated the event with feasting and roistering. In
the crowded streets inhabitants and buccaneers alike
gave themselves up to a long debauch. The gutters
flowed with Jamaica rum if not with blood, and in the
end much Spanish gold came into the hands of the
stay-at-home Jamaica merchants, and the buccaneers,
with empty pockets, started off to sea once more.'
After the signing of the Treaty of Madrid, Lord
Sandwich in vain besought the English Government
to live up to the agreement with Spain and suppress
this privateering. He patiently explained that the
Spanish had at last acknowledged England's claim
to Jamaica, and that England in turn must do its
part. But the Duke of York and the first Duke of
Albemarle, to whom he particularly addressed himself,
remembering their gains by means of the buccaneers,
turned deaf ears. The Council argued that from
^ Gardiner, History of Jamaica, p. 58.
* Burnet, History of His Own Time, vol. ii. p. 102.
* ' The Spanish ... at first coming (to Jamaica) wondered much at
sickness of our people until they knew the strength of their drinks, but
then wondered more that they were not aU dead.' — Sir Thos. Modyford,
Cat. State Papers, Col., 166 1-8, § 1085.
1671] SIR HENRY MORGAN 283
the time of Elizabeth onward, England had regarded
the West Indies as fair play. So the ' Sweet Trade of
Privateering ' went on.^
The sack of Panama by Henry Morgan and his
men, 2 in January 1671, proved too much for Spanish
patience. The buccaneers had sailed under a com-
mission from the Governor of Jamaica, and, in con-
sequence. Sir Thomas Modyford was recalled to
England under arrest. After a discreet interval of
time, passed in the Tower, he was released through
the intercession of the second Duke of Albemarle.
Henry Morgan was likewise in England under arrest,
but soon the horror of his deeds was forgotten in
admiration of his exploits.^ He was presently in
great favour with the King, who knighted him, and
in 1674 sent him back to Jamaica as Lieutenant-
Governor. His enemies on the island accused him
of secretly encouraging privateering, and interfering
with the successive governors in the hope of succeed-
ing them. He was sent a second time to England
in disgrace, in 1683. At the time of the Duke of
Albemarle's embarking, the Government was seek-
ing an opportunity to restore him to favour. Albe-
marle's instructions show plainly that he was expected
to find Sir Henry guiltless of offence.
To return to the year 1671. After the sack
of Panama, disputes of all kinds arose between
the colonists and the Home Government. Lord
Vaughan,* proving unequal to the task of governor-
ship, Lord Carlisle was sent to enforce a more vigor-
ous policy. The Home Government now planned to
draft a code of laws in England and force them upon
Jamaica, while a perpetual revenue to the Crown,
^ Harris, Edward Montagu, First Earl of Sandwich, vol. ii. p. 210.
^ Exquemelin, Buccaneers of America, part 11. p. 31 passim.
^ Evelyn, Diary, October 6, 1674.
* Afterwards the Earl of Carberry.
284 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
against which the colonists had always protested,
was to be exacted. The Poynings Act for Ireland
was to be enforced in Jamaica. This decreed that
every bill before being presented to the Jamaica
Assembly must be approved by the Privy Council in
England, and then must be passed or rejected by the
Assembly without amendment.^ When it is remem-
bered that apart from the fact that the Jamaica
settlers were of a strongly independent spirit, the
voyage to England occupied from six weeks to four
months, it is not strange that the proposal was hotly
rejected by the Jamaicans. Even the Governor pro-
tested, and the affair was finally settled when Sir
Thomas Lynch came out as Governor ^ in 1681,
bringing a constitution similar to that of Barbadoes,
and giving the Assembly power to pass bills with the
advice and consent of the Council. The disputed
Revenue Bill was passed to operate for a period of
seven years, ^ and it was hoped that this turbulent
island would now settle down to peace and comfort.
In opposition to the buccaneers, on an equally
questionable foundation, another great power was
at work upon the political destinies of the island,
a power whose workings were not confined to the
islands of the Caribbean Sea. The raising of sugar
required labourers, and labourers who could endure
to work in the tropic sun. As early as 1663, the
Royal African Company was formed, and received
a charter to supply negro slaves to the colonial
^ Egerton, British Colonial Policy, p. 78.
- This was Sir Thomas Lynch's second period of governorship in
Jamaica.
' When this Revenue Bill was under discussion in Morgan's governor-
ship, a warrant was prepared in England to void all Acts passed by Sir
Henry Morgan unless this Revenue Bill should be passed before the
arrival of the new Governor, Sir Thomas Lynch. This fact should be
remembered in connection with the voiding of all legislation passed by
Albemarle's assembly (November 1688).
1671] THE ROYAL AFRICAN COMPANY 285
planters. It employed forty ships, and had forts and
factories along the coast of Africa to secure slaves.
Among its shareholders were the Queen-Consort,
Catherine of Braganza ; the Queen-Dowager, Henri-
etta Maria ; the King's sister, the Duchess of Orleans ;
and the King's brother, the Duke of York. The enter-
prise was not a success, owing to the ' Machinations
of the Hollanders,' who were the better business
men.
On October 27, 1 671, at a meeting held at Whitehall
Palace, the Company was reorganised with a Royal
patent and grant, under the name of the * Company
of Royal Adventurers of England, trading with Africa.'
They were still spoken of as the Royal African Com-
pany. The capital was one hundred thousand pounds,
and the first names on the subscription book are :
James, Duke of York
;^3000
Prince Rupert
Duke of Buckingham
400
500
LP Craven ....
800
LP Angelsey ....
Lord Arlington
Lord Ashley (Shaftesbury)
G. Carteret ....
400
200
1200
500 1
The Duke of York was elected Governor of the
Company, and continued to serve in this capacity
after he became King. He was very regular in his
attendance, and was always voted a goodly sum in
recognition of his condescension in attending meet-
ings. ^ The Company held a monopoly for slave
trade with the Plantations, and Government frigates
were always to be had to protect this monopoly, to
drive off ' interlopers,' as independent traders were
1 P.R.O. Treasury, 70, vol. ci. The Royal African Company, Minute
Book of the General Court, Subscriptions and Transfers.
* At each meeting seven hundred and fifty pounds was distributed
among the directors present.
286 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
called, and to escort slave ships to their destination to
protect them from the South Sea pirates.
The Company's business was extended to include
various other monopolies. They imported gold
from Africa, and coined it themselves ; they held
a contract to victual and fit out all the naval
vessels at colonial ports. They also exported
woollen cloth and imported elephants' teeth and
wax.^
The Royal African Company continually com-
plained of their hard lot, and importuned King
Charles II. through their Governor, James, Duke of
York, for privileges of many kinds.
The royal frigate Orange Tree was, for many years,
given over to the service of protecting the Company's
factories on the African coast, while such repre-
sentatives of the navy as were found in the West
Indies were chiefly employed as guardians for slave
ships. 2 At the meeting in Drapers' Hall, January li,
1678, presided over by the Duke of York, it was re-
ported that forty thousand guineas of gold had been
coined.^
Some years no dividend was paid, but the stock was
surely found to be a good investment, else so many
men of wealth and authority would not have con-
tinued their holdings. The meeting held in African
House, January 14, 1686, declared a dividend of ten
per cent., in spite of repeated reports of a bad year,
and complaints that the planters were not paying
their debts. It may very well be believed that the
majority of stockholders received few or no dividends.
But a large sum of money was obtained through the
business of this Company and found its way into the
* Certain Considerations Relating to the Royal African Company of
England, printed MDCLXXX.
* See Albemarle's instructions.
' These coins were marked by an elephant's head.
i687] GRIEVANCE OF THE PLANTERS 287
pockets of either officers or servants instead of the
stockholders.
In Jamaica the planters felt that they had a great
grievance against the Royal African Company.
According to its charter, Jamaica was to be furnished
with negroes at seventeen pounds a head.^ This
meant seventeen pounds when a contract for a
specific number of slaves had been previously signed.
The slave must be taken directly from the ship with-
out the intervention of the Company's factor. The
Company, on its part, only engaged that the slaves
should be sufficiently healthy to be able to walk off
the ship unassisted.'^ Finding that they could get
far larger prices from the neighbouring Spaniards, the
Company drove a thriving trade with a Spanish
dealer, while the Jamaicans were offered only such
sick or maimed negroes as the Spaniards refused to
buy. Consequently, their plantations were going
untilled, the sugar crop was insufficient, and they were
therefore in debt to the Company.
Owing to the fact that the neighbouring Spanish
islands had raised the value of their silver money,
while Jamaica was not permitted to follow suit, there
was an almost complete lack of coinage in the island.
In consequence, the planters could only pay their
debts in sugar. This they must ship to England,
paying an import duty to the Government before they
could settle with the Company. The Government
viewed this added bit of revenue with complacency,
* In addition to the negroes, criminals were shipped to Jamaica and
sold to planters to work among the sugar-cane. Such servants were
unsatisfactory, not only on account of their antecedents, being many
of them hardened criminals, but also because, being quick and resource-
ful, they sooner or later made their escape and joined the buccaneers,
whose ships were largely manned by this method. The more serious-
minded among the planters dreaded the effect upon their population of
this criminal element.
2 Report of the Am. Hist. Assoc, 1900, vol. i. p. 141, and passim.
288 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
and turned a deaf ear to the complaints of the planters.
No one can deny that their case seemed a hard one.
To add to their grievances, the Company's factors
also held Government offices. Hender Molesworth,
whose name appears through many years as one of
the Company's factors in Jamaica, served several
times as Lieutenant-Governor. He was also Deputy-
Governor during the interregnum between the death
or departure for England of one Governor and
the coming out of another. He was serving in this
capacity in 1686-7. Sir Philip Howard, the former
Governor, died in April 1686, and Albemarle did not
reach Jamaica until December 19, 1687.
England's ethical development as well as her foreign
treaties now demanded the suppression of piracy and
with it privateering and buccaneering.^ Slave trad-
ing was still considered an honourable and legitimate
calling. It made no conscience uneasy, unless it was
the Quaker's, and him no man regarded.
Sir Thomas Lynch, serving a second term as
Governor, 1682-4, had bent his energies to the
suppression of the pirates and buccaneers and the
encouragement of the Royal African Company's
slave trade. 2 He received small thanks for his
efforts and incurred the enmity of the discontented
party. He failed to subdue the buccaneers and died
of vexation and disappointment, August 1684.^
The Jamaicans then, in 1687, lay smarting under
two very real grievances, the suppression of the pro-
fitable buccaneering and the domination of the Royal
^ Privateers differed from pirates in having commissions.
* He was especially disliked because in his first governorship he had
encouraged the buccaneers.
* Fortescue's Introduction to Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8. He
was buried in the cathedral at Spanish Town. His inscription
reads : ' Here lies Sir Thomas Lynch at ease and blest ; Would you
know more, the world will speak the Rest.' — Forrest and Henderson,
The West Indies, p. 230.
1687] THE ASSIENTO 289
African Company. To add to their troubles, the
Spanish had estabUshed an agent in Jamaica to buy
and carry off the best negroes from each slave ship
when it put into Port Royal. Often the whole cargo
would be thus disposed of, and the ship itself would
sail away to a Spanish port, escorted by an English
frigate. This Spanish trade in negroes is spoken of
in the documents as the Assiento. This name might
apply to any grant conceded by the King of Spain.
In the islands of the Caribbean Sea, it was used
exclusively to refer to the Royal African Company's
agreement with the Spanish or Dutch for the sale of
slaves.
All English monopolies in the colonies were ordered
with regard to the benefit which might accrue to
England. And such was the short-sighted policy
that it frequently, as in the case of the Jamaica
planters and the Royal African Company, killed the
goose that laid the golden egg.
During the years of European war, the American
colonies had often been left much to their own de-
vices. The leading colonists were ever independent,
resolute men. Jamaica was thus not alone in her
turbulent discontent. These years were beset with
difficulties for all colonial governors. In Barbadoes
the Governor had succumbed to circumstances,
and had made common cause with the boldest
buccaneers. In New England the strong hand of
authority was directed by Sir Edmund Andros. He
hated the colonists and offended and tyrannised over
them to such a degree that his rule is remembered
with hatred unto this day. The more respectable
planters of Jamaica, driven to despair, now joined
forces with the buccaneers.
The Duke of Albemarle must long have been aware
of the controversies in his Jamaica governorship.
290 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
Sir Thomas Modyford was his relative, and his father
had had many deahngs with the West Indies. As
early as 1680, Long and Beeston, two representatives
of the planters' party who had quarrelled with the
then Governor, Lord Carlisle, on being sent to
England, had pleaded their cause to such purpose
that they had moved the King to grant Jamaica the
same privileges as Barbadoes enjoyed. These men
were called into the Council Chamber, October 30,
1680, and there introduced to Prince Rupert and
the Duke of Albemarle.^ As soon as Albemarle's
appointment was made known in Jamaica he was
informed further of these dissensions, and he peti-
tioned the King for especial powers to deal with
these difficulties, which he found affected even his
Council.^ He was far from inexperienced in colonial
matters, having been one of the Committee of Lords
of Trade and Plantations. He had inherited from
his father large grants in the Carolinas. These had
always been troublesome to manage, and he, with
others, held rights in the island of Barbadoes and had
quarrelled with its governors.
^ Gardiner, History of Jamaica, p. 65.
* April 15, 1687, CO., I : 62, p. 23-24 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8,
§ 1210.
CHAPTER III
Before leaving the Assistance, Albemarle wrote to
the Lords of Trade and Plantations :
' My Lords, — This is to give you an account that
I arrived here this morning and also hoping it will
not be too troublesome to y^ Ld^P^ to give you this
following relation of our whole voyage.' ^
Whereupon he proceeds to write a long and cir-
cumstantial account of the entire four months'
journey, and he dwells at length upon the condition
of the West Indian militia, which he had reviewed.
The postscript, however, is of more interest and must
not be overlooked :
* One thing I have omitted to mention to your
Ld^P% as you will find by the minutes of the Council
concerning Sir Henry Morgan, where the whole
Council have desired me that I would favourable
recommend him to his Maj^'^ for his re-admission into
the Council which I earnestly do, and desire y"^ L^^^p^
will please to move it to his Maj^'^.' ^
This duty completed, he and the Duchess, with
their hundred servants and five hundred tons of
goods, landed and established themselves temporarily
in a rented house at Port Royal. The new Governor
now had leisure to look about him and discover what
sort of place his ' Government beyond the Seas ' had
proved to be.
1 CO., I : 63, p. II, and CO., 138 : 6, p. 74; Cal. Slate Papers, Col.,
1685-8, § 1567.
* This recommendation was duly submitted to the King, and by his
order the prohibitions were removed from Sir Henry Morgan.
291
292 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
The whole Island of Jamaica, though a tropical
paradise, boasted Httle more than seven thousand
inhabitants, not counting either the seamen, of whom
there were some eight hundred belonging to the
Ports, or the slaves, who exceeded their masters by
quite two thousand. The town of Port Royal would
claim first attention. Built on a narrow point of
land running into the sea, it helped to form an ex-
cellent harbour. In 1673 its population was some
two thousand souls, and the ensuing years of de-
creasing trade would have diminished rather than in-
creased that number. Its eight hundred houses were
of two varieties. Those constructed by the former
Spanish inhabitants were built about a courtyard,
and were usually but one story high. Thus they were
admirably adapted to temper the heat of the sun and
to withstand the frequent earth quakes.^ The English ,
unmindful of the needs of their new life, had repro-
duced the brick homes of their own land, which Dr.
Sloane critically remarks ' are neither cool nor able
to withstand earthquakes.' ^
Spanish Town, or St. Jaco de la Vega, also showed
traces of its former owners. Here stood the old
cathedral built by the Spaniards in 1523, now used
by the Church of England. Within its walls were
buried such dignitaries as were so unfortunate as
to die in the island, and among the epitaphs of
Cromwell's officers Albemarle would find many a
familiar name. The altar plate was famous for its
age and beauty, for the buccaneers had not neglected
their pious duty when distributing their spoils. ^
Kingston, on the other hand, was a new town, and
boasted of two thousand six hundred and seventy-
1 Port Royal was destroyed by an earthquake in 1692.
* Sloane, Introduction to A Voyage to Madeira.
^ Forrest and Henderson, The West Indies, p. 229.
i687] GOVERNMENT BEYOND THE SEAS 293
seven inhabitants, both bond and free. How far from
home, how separated from their own kind, the Duke
and Duchess must have speedily realised themselves
to be. The neighbouring islands were even less
populous than their own. The mainland of North
America showed a thin line of inhabitants settled
along the coast. The interior was a trackless wilder-
ness claimed by France. La Salle had reached the
mouth of the Mississippi river only five years before.
Fortunately the Duke had short time for reflec-
tion. He was forced immediately to give himself to
a matter which nearly concerned him. The news of
Albemarle's patent for the treasure ship had been
long in reaching Jamaica. The Council were perhaps
in no haste to make the facts public, for the stream
of treasure coming into Jamaica was very welcome.
The Colonial Order Book records that the King's
proclamation on the subject was read and published
by beat of drums at Port Royal, July 27, 1687, by
Smith Kelly, Provost Marshal. The drums must have
beat but gently, for the Council minutes show that
another proclamation was published in November,
little more than a month before the new Governor's
arrival. Nothing was known of the second patent
by which the King was to receive one-fifth moiety
of the treasure. Hence, Albemarle was dismayed to
find that only one-tenth had been exacted by Acting-
Governor Molesworth from the reluctant seamen.
Hastily summoning a Council at Port Royal, he put
the matter forcefully before them. The Councillors
were not easily disturbed, and their minutes show
their laconic reply :
'The Council do unanimously abide by the V^
Proclamation issued by their advice concerning the
wreck. They all declaring that they intended there-
by only his Maj^^*^'" Service and the good of this
u
294 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
Island, and that they did not know of any grant from
his Maj''^ for the same.' ^
In the pursuit of this subject, Albemarle was not
entirely actuated by selfish motives. He presently
received a letter from no less a person than King
James himself, reminding him not only of the obliga-
tions of his own patent, but commanding him to
exact for the King one-half of the treasure brought
in from any other than his own wreck, and making
him personally responsible for the collection of all
of the King's dues. 2 Molesworth, protected by his
position as factor of the Royal African Company,
showed little interest in this business. Moreover,
he regarded the new Governor as a figurehead. He
was speedily undeceived. Albemarle cared nothing
for the Royal African Company's factor, and much
that this debt to the King should rest on the proper
shoulders. Therefore, he put Colonel Molesworth
under a bond of one hundred thousand pounds. This
was in direct opposition to orders, but Albemarle
knew it would be weeks before he could receive direc-
tions from the King, and, in the meantime, he was
personally responsible for all the King's dues which
had not been collected by his predecessor. Nor did
the Duke release Molesworth from his bond, or per-
mit him to return to England before he received a
letter from Lord Sunderland, written by the King's
order, by which
' The Duke and his heirs are absolved from re-
sponsibility for moiety up to the time of Albemarle's
personal arrival in the Island.' ^
» CO., I : 62, No. 868, Wednesday, December 28, 1687.
» CO., 138 : 6, pp. 47-9 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1490,
October 28, 16S7.
3 CO., 138 : 6, p. 198; Cal. State Papers, Col, 1685-8, § 1770, June i,
1688.
i688] RENDER MOLESWORTH 295
Molesworth, who already had a grievance against
the Duke in the matter of the two thousand pounds
back pay, departed for England in no friendly mood.
He went pursued by the story that he was in debt
four hundred and forty-six pounds when he left the
island, and that he had charged the revenue with
almost two thousand pounds more. Then, too, he
had refused to make up his accounts as factor of the
Royal African Company. Albemarle had insisted, in
vain, that these accounts must be completed before
any accusations could be laid against the planters,
in order that ' it might be rightly known what the
Planter owes, and what his Agents.* ^
The feud between the Duke of Albemarle and
Colonel Molesworth over the King's dues coloured all
the administration. Molesworth, once in England,
had the ear of the Company and so of the King.
Consequently he told what stories he chose of the
doings in Jamaica. There were planters in plenty
who had but the poorest opinion of Colonel Moles-
worth's integrity, even in the business of the Royal
African Company. George Reid, a former factor
of the Company, and so well versed in its history,
openly accused the factors in Jamaica, of whom
Molesworth was the chief, of having sold out the
slave trade in Jamaica to the Dutch for their own
private gain, and, by so doing, lost the Spanish trade
to the Company. 2 Molesworth retaliated by accusing
George Reid of being a discontented ex-employee, and
generally giving his accusers the name of being not
only liars, but debtors to the Company. Albemarle
repeated his demand that the Company should show
1 Montagu House MSS. Father Thomas Churchill to Albemarle,
November 15, i688.
* CO., I : 65, No. 90; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1947. George
Reid to Dr. Churchill, December 7, 1688.
296 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
their books to prove the indebtedness of these men.
The Company repHed that such a proceeding would
be prejudicial to their business. By the time that
memorials were drawn up in Jamaica by the injured
planters and presented in London, Albemarle was
dead, King James had fled to France, and William
of Orange had been proclaimed King. Speedily as
did the statesmen carry through this revolution, the
Royal African Company was speedier. The Prince of
Orange had been in England scarcely two months
before he was presented with one thousand pounds
worth of stock and elected Governor in place of the
deposed King James. Naturally his pohcy toward
the planters was the same as that of his predecessor.^
Returning to eariier events. On February i6,
1688, the Assembly was called to order, and the new
Governor addressed them in a short speech :
* Gentlemen, — Having received from his Maj^'^
the Honor and Trust of this Government, I think
myself Obliged to doe all that in me lyes to Promote
his Service and the Publique Interest of this Island
which are truely Consistant ; for any separation will
lessen his Maj''^'^ intentions towards the Incourage-
ment of this Country and Render my Endeavours
ineffectual.
' To the end therefore, that this Session may End
happily as I wish it, Lett me advise and Command
That noe particular piques, Or Private Animositys
may hinder the General Benefitts of this Island which
his Maj''*^ I believe Esteems above all others in this
Part of the World.
' And I doe assure you that nothing on My Part
Shall be wanting to answer those great Ends, the
» P.R.O. Treasury, 70, vol. ci., Royal African Company, Minutes of
the General Court meeting, Jan. 16, 1689 : ' The Court of Assistants
desired his Highness the Prince of Orange to be Governor and for
capacitating him thereunto presented him with 1000 pounds principal
stock, which His Highness was pleased to accept of and promised that
he would doe the Company all the kindness that lay in him.'
i688] ATTACK ON THE TREASURE SHIP 297
King my Master sent mee hither for, And therefore
Expect your Ready and Hearty concurrence with me
(which I doe not in the least Doubt) Otherwise the
ill Consequences that may arise from the Contrary
must be imputed Your fTault And shall lye at your
Doors.' ^
Eight days later the Council was summoned in
haste at St. Jaco de la Vega ^ to hear tidings received
by Albemarle from the King. A Dutch expedition
under Lord Mordaunt threatened to attack Sir John
Narborough and seize the wreck of the treasure ship.
The word of alarm was sent from England. Albemarle
in Jamaica, on fire at once, gave it as the King's
opinion and his own, that as Commander-in-Chief he
should go at once to the scene. The Council, less
enthusiastic, unanimously advised the contrary, say-
ing * That it can neither be safe for his Grace's person,
There being noe ffrigate now in the Harbour to carry
him thither, nor for the Government of this Island
now under his Grace's Comand and Care.' ^
The Assistance, under Lawrence Wright, and the
Duke's yacht under command of Captain Thomas
Monck, hurried to reinforce the treasure-seekers.
Lord Mordaunt and Sir John Narborough settled the
matter between themselves without any serious con-
sequences. The Dutch indeed went to the wreck,
but left without either treasure or bloodshed.
Meanwhile the Assembly had no intention of carry-
ing on any business, so they were much annoyed
when, having sent word to the Governor that they
wished to adjourn for a long period to attend to
their private affairs, he declined to give them more
recess than while the General Court should be sitting.
They were the more amazed at this turn of affairs as
^ CO., 140 : 4, p. 195 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1635.
* Spanish Town.
* CO., 140 : 4, p. 193 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1640.
298 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
the news from England to the agents of the Company
and their creatures, many of whom sat in the Assembly,
gave them to understand that the new Governor was
a nonentity, and was not to be allowed any powers
whatsoever, George Reid, writing of this very
matter to the Bishop of London (?) from Jamaica,
says :
* For they never intended My Lord Duke should
be able to do any Service here for his Maj'*^'^ or the
Country's Good for reasons to y '"selves (themselves)
best known.' ^
Before the first meeting of the Assembly, Albemarle
had begun to act for himself. He had warmly
espoused the cause of the planters, and to this end he
deposed the Chief Justice Barnard and replaced him
with Mr. Ellerson, who had formerly practised law
in the island, but had been under some accusations
from the late Governor Lynch. The Grand Court
had fully exonerated him, and had issued a proclama-
tion to that effect. The affair had been brought to
the notice of the Privy Council in England and Colonel
Molesworth had orders to investigate the matter. ^
The case had made no little stir in the island, and
when Albemarle made Ellerson Chief Justice, the
fires of partisanship broke forth anew.
Colonel Bourdon, who was a member of the Council
and an Assistant Judge of the Supreme Court, as well
as a paid agent of the Royal African Company, passed
hot words with the Governor and immediately re-
signed his judgeship. Whereupon Major Penhallow
and Lieutenant-Colonel Elmore, his fellow judges,
followed suit. Albemarle believed that this was done
to make it impossible to hold Court with only the new
* CO., I : 65, p. 90 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1927, November
7, 1688.
* Privy Council Register, James 11., part i., March 19, i68£.
i688] RESIGNATION OF THE JUDGES 299
Chief Justice and one associate, Colonel Needham,
for Albemarle's energy when aroused would be totally
unsuspected by these men. His next letter to the
Lords of Trade and Plantations describes these
events :
* They were soon undeceived, for immediately, Mr.
Francis Watson, Col. Ballard, Major Peak, Major
Reeves and Mr. Knight voluntarily offered to serve
his Majesty as Judges, which I took kindly of them
and they with Col. Needham (who remained firm)
were put into the Commission and the Court was
holden on the day appointed.'
Of Mr. EUerson he says :
' I made choice of Mr. Ellerson because I thought
him an honest man, an able lawyer, and one that I
am certain will do his Maj*^*^ good service in the
Station I have put him in.' ^ . . .
* Upon considering the ill-consequences of Col.
Bourdon's refusing to continue as Associate Judge,
and that he did it so publicly and obstinately, I
thought he deserved to receive a public correction and
therefore on the 5th Instant (March), in Council I
suspended him from the ofhce of Councellor, I like-
wise dismissed Major Penhallow from his office as
Major, but do continue him in the Commission of
Justice of Peace, thinking that by that he may be
Serviceable to the African Co. of which he is factor.' ^
Colonel Bourdon retaliated by writing to the Lords
of Trade and Plantations to complain of his treatment.
But the King confirmed his dismissal by recommenda-
tion of the committee.
Albemarle now insisted that some of the more im-
portant bills presented to the Assembly should be
passed. When the coinage bill came under dis-
1 CO., I : 64, No. 30, and CO., 138 : 6, pp. 86-93 '< Cal. State Papers,
Col., 1685-8, § 1656. Albemarle to the Lords of the Committee.
» CO., 138 : 6, pp. 104-5.
300 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
cussion, Mr. Ralph Knight, a member of the Assembly,
so far forgot himself as to say in public that this
currency bill was ' nonsense, impossible, and im-
practicable.'
* His Grace then remarked " He did not much
wonder Mr. Knight should speak such words, since
he is informed a member of the Board (Council)
contrary to his Oath as Councellor, has spoke very
scandolous and reflecting words of him." And it was
then reported under oath that Col. Sam^ Barry was
the guilty man. He had said that " His Grace had
not done Justice." For this he was suspended from
the Council and the Attorney General ordered to
prosecute him in the Grand Jury.'
Colonel Barry was now in serious difficulties, for
the new Chief Justice already had permission to
prosecute him for defamation of character. Colonel
Barry and Mr. Knight humbly apologised in writing
next day.
Albemarle's next letter (April i6) sent varied news
to the Lords of Trade and Plantations. After re-
counting the delinquencies of the Councillors and
Assembly men, he gives an account of Lord Mordaunt
and his attempt on the treasure ship, as well as various
items of news relating to the business of the Gentlemen
Adventurers. Then he tells how certain English
ships have been seized by pirates (Biscayans) and the
Assistance has gone to their rescue. Next he describes
a great fight between the famous English pirates
Yankee, Jacobs and Coxen, and a Spanish hulk in the
Bay of Honduras. But the most noteworthy news
is of the malcontent Assembly, and is thus recorded.
The Assembly did very little work,
' the major part having made it their business during
Sessions to wrangle and disagree with the rest, and to
oppose all things propounded them for his Majesty's
i688] THE ASSEMBLY IS DISSOLVED 301
Service and the Good of the Country, and their private
heats growing more intolerable and being out of hopes
of reducing them to any proper temper for business,
having often endeavored it in vain, I thought the
best way was to dissolve them, which I accordingly
did on the 4th (April). I gave my consent that day
to this Act (which was the only business perfected)
for passing Spanish money, being satisfied it will be
for general benefit, especially to the poorer sort of
people here. These malcontents of the Assembly
being sensible that they outnumber the rest would
suffer nothing to be fairly debated in the House, but
immediately were for putting anything to the Vote
and consulted nothing but their own humors which
were in direct opposition to my proposals.' . . . ' As
soon as I have settled the officers both military and
civil throughout the whole Island, I will order the
choosing of another Assembly, which I hope will
prove better disposed than the last.' -^
By which it will be seen that Albemarle had taken a
leaf out of the book of his late master. King Charles 11.,
who when a Parliament proved refractory, dissolved
it and proceeded to another election. Albemarle
believed in the divine right of his sovereign, so, acting
as that sovereign's representative, he conscientiously
carried out an arbitrary rule.^
While this election was pending, what troubles the
English and other peaceful merchantmen suffered
from the Biscayans is further disclosed in Albemarle's
letter of May 2, 1688.
^ CO., 138 : 6, p. 109 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1705.
^ Albemarle was not the only colonial governor who was in difficulty
with his colonists. Welbeck MSS., June 19, Whitehall. Wilham
Blathwayt to Sir Robert Southwell ; ' Increase Mather, Sea Born
Cotton, etc., are come hither from Massachusetts with addresses and
have audiences of the great ones now. And there are joint endeavors
to supplant vSir Edmund (Andros) and discredit the Caveleros but I
hope Sir Ed. Andros has taken such root in his Majestie's good opinion
as to withstand some shocks.' Andros was a stockholder in the Royal
African Company.
302 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
' I have daily complaints from subjects that
Biscayans who take all ships that they can overcome,
carry them into any Spanish Port, use the men
barbourously and cruelly and at best make them
slaves and having Commission from the Iving of
Spain say that no Spanish Governor in the Indies
hath anything to do with them.
* There are now Six English vessels taken by them
at La Vera Cruz ; I hear that Dean the pirate is
there. Your Lordships will find from enclosed
dyposition, how insolent these Biscayans are. I
desire to know his Majesties Commands as to what
steps I may take for Suppressing them. In the mean-
time, I will take the best means toward recovering
these distressed Subjects that have fallen into
Biscayan hands, who are very insufferable and have
been complained of to me by some of the Spanish
Governors.'
Genuine pirates had long been discredited, but under
the King's own proclamation, posted by Albemarle,
even these sinners were given a year to come into port
and surrender to proper authority. After depositing
a certain sum as guarantee for future good behaviour,
they were promised no further trouble. Privateers
and buccaneers were differently regarded. These
always held commissions granted by Governors and
were subject to quite different conditions, although
they too were now proclaimed to be unlawful. Before
this letter reached England, Sir Robert Holmes, the
Royal Commissioner for the Suppression of Piracy,
had sent Mr. Lynch as his deputy to the West Indies.^
His instructions so conflicted with Albemarle's
authority that they were soon at swords' points.
Lynch 's first act was to take prisoner some fifty-
six pirates or privateers — their exact status was in
1 CO., 13S : 6, pp. 63-7; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1602.
Stephen Lynch : not to be mistaken for Sir Thomas Lynch, the former
Governor.
i688] PRIVATEERS 303
question — who had Incautiously sailed into Port
Royal harbour, having taken the proclamation in
good faith.
' All French,'says Albemarle in his letter of May 11,
* except three, an Irishman, a German and a Mulatto.
Mr. Lynch as soon as possible seized their goods and
put them into prison and irons. This being noised
abroad, I believe no more will venture hither on the
same terms. Those here finding themselves mistaken
in their hopes, have complained to me, and beg leave
to send to jetty Guavos for their Commissions,
(which) the French Governor there granted them.
And further say that notwithstanding Commissions,
they will be content to be hanged if it can be proved
they have injured any of the Kings Subjects. I could
not deny the petition.' ^
A most perplexing problem confronted the Gover-
nor, for if these pirates produced commissions, they
must have been granted in defiance of the Treaty of
Peace, They could hardly be kept prisoners with-
out giving an affront to France, a friendly power.
Yet Lynch continually accused Albemarle of hindering
him in his duty. A month later the privateers were
still in prison, and Mr. Lynch sailed off to Carthagena
on plea of other business.
On June 20 Albemarle further writes that he has
received the commission of the French privateers and
a pardon from the Governor of Jetty Guavos. He is
much concerned how to act, having strict orders from
the King to assist Lynch, and other instructions on
January 23 and February i from the Commissioners
of the two Crowns, ' to take care that we do no
hurt to the subjects of the King of France.' The
Council's advice to him was to temporise, answer
the French Governor civilly, and await instructions
1 CO., 136 ; 6, pp. 118-22 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1753.
304 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
from the King of England. To put a crowning point
to the exasperating nature of Mr. Lynch 's conduct,
reliable witnesses averred that Lynch had offered the
French prisoners freedom for six pounds apiece. For
the Deputy Commissioner, far from home, with no
restraining hand or eye upon him, was not averse
from adding to his private income, as have other and
better men.
Albemarle was obliged to report still another con-
flict of authority, and one which affected the King of
England in his most sensitive point. His letter of
May 1 1 says :
' Here a remarkable transaction (is) impudently
carried on by a Spaniard, naturalized here, called
Signor St. Jaco. The foreign ecleciastic Power which
he produced from the Bishop of Cuba or Chapter of
St. Christopher, there — I send you a copy enclosed
and attested by St. Jaco in Council, and adjudged in
Council to be in prejudice of his Majes^^^^ prerogative
— and an obstruction to Father Churchill's function.
What more followed on Churchill's complaint to me I
send enclosed.' ^
In fact, the Bishop of Cuba declined to allow the
King of England to appoint a priest in Jamaica, which
island he chose to consider under his ecclesiastical
jurisdiction. Before many weeks had passed. Father
Churchill was obliged to sail for England with what
grace he could. He and Albemarle had become fast
friends in these few months, and he returned to
England the especial advocate of the planters' party
against the adherents of the Royal African Company.
The island revolters congratulated themselves upon
having a representative who could be counted upon
to have the ear of the King, never dreaming what
changes the next six months would bring forth.
1 CO., 136 : 6, pp. 118-22; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1753.
i688] THE DIVERSIONS OF THE DUKE 305
Meantime Albemarle had attempted further reforms
among the island officials.
' I have removed the Attorney General and Provost
Marshall who lys under a great many crimes besides
this last, and the Attorney Gen^ has not only acted
contrary to my command but like a knave to his
Majesty.'
Truth to tell, Albemarle had come to Jamaica with
every intention of becoming a good Governor. As a
staunch upholder of the Stuart dynasty, he believed
in the absolute monarchy with the intensity of a
bigot. He felt himself the King's representative with
all seriousness, and ruled with energy in single-
hearted despotism. Perhaps he never grasped the
fact that no one in England, much less King James,
desired to free the Colony from the tyranny of the
Royal African Company. His was not a subtle
mind, and the idea that he was to shut his eyes
to what it was inexpedient to see never occurred
to him.
In his Island Government there was little or no
congenial society. Did he consort with the planters
(late buccaneers) Morgan and his circle ? It was
no more than the King his master had done at
Whitehall and at Windsor. Fancy the tales
these men could relate of hairbreadth escapes,
treasures trove, and burning cities ! Who would
not listen late into the tropic night to such tales
of gold and adventure ? If, while he listened,
the Duke drank too deep of good Madeira wine,
few at Whitehall could safely point the finger of
scorn.
The Duchess, not wishing to be forgotten at Court,
sent presents of tropic fruits to the Queen and the
maids of honour. Toward midsummer, the mail-
bag from London brought some replies that we may
3o6 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
be sure were eagerly read by this exiled lady. M.
Crag (?) writes May 12 (1688) :
* Your letter, my dearest Duchess, I received with
great joy, since it brought me the good news of your
health, and the Duke's. You have not an humble
servant in the world truly loves and honours you more
than I do ; I must quarrel your letter was so Short,
and had no particulars in it. The Queen asked me
a thousand questions of how liked.' (This expres-
sion still lingers in some parts of New England.) ' I
was not slow in telling her Majesty your letter was
filled with nothing but duty and landness to her
Majesty, which she received with great pleasure, but
showed trouble you had not sent her word how the
place agreed with you and the Duke. I told her
Majesty you had sent her a present of jacolet (choco-
late) which She said she must taste for your sake ;
but hearing nothing of it since, I sent to Mr. Phillips
(sic) to inquire after it, to know when a ship went,
that I might pay my duty to you.
' As to the jacolet, it is not to be heard of, but I
would not omit the first opportunity to let you know
that, blessed be God, the Queen ^ is much better
than she has been in health, but so cruel as to leave
this nation in July or August next. I cannot give
you any particular account who goes or stays in
this ; only for certain my Lady Fingaull is named to
go ; but I believe I and my neice Widderington will
go to stay with her Majesty in Portugal, for I will
never quit her so long as I live, if she will accept my
service. The Queen ^ hath given us many frights
but God be thanked, is very well. . . .
' All your family is well. Lord Tennit (Thanet)
and his Lady (Katherine Cavendish) was in town
lately, and very well ; You know Mr. Boule (?) is
married to Mrs. Noel and Lord Cleford to My Lady
Arrathusay Bartley ; he is so fond a husband we
never see him now at Court. My Lady Manchester
is also married to Mr. Montague, and having so
^ Catherine, widow of Charles ii.
^ Mary of Modena, wife of James ii.
i688] GOSSIP FROM WHITEHALL 307
young a husband she cannot choose but look very
briskly. Lord Cavendish is to marry Lord Russell's
daughter, and My Lord Bedford's daughter is to
marry My Lord Strafford. My Lord Salsbury is
become the best husband in the world, and also a
good Catholic ; I wish I could hear the same good news
of you and your Lord, for nobody loves you better.
'P.S.—My Lord Mordon (Mordaunt) went with
four ships to Seek Gold, but Narborow would not
admit him ; the last hath sent home five thousand
pound, which will not half pay his Charges, but hopes
to get much more. I grieve your Duke did not leave
ships there when the firs (sic) came away ; if he had
he had got enough.' ^
This letter shows that neither the Duke nor Duchess
of Albemarle had become a Roman Catholic, or this
maid of honour of Queen Catherine's would not hope
so strongly for their conversion.
(Mrs. ?) B. Strickland writes to the Duchess,
May 28 (1688), also from Whitehall :
* My dear Duchess did me great justice in believing
I should be much pleased to hear of your safe arrival
in Jamake, which upon my word I was so trans-
ported at as I could not sleep for joy. ... I have
been hindered from writing to your Grace sooner by
misfortunes ; first, my having the Smallpox ; next
the death of one of my boys of a fever, and thirdly,
the illness of him that hath the honour to be your
Godson. . . . I made your comphment to the Queen,
who was extreme glad to hear of your being so well,
and ordered me to tell you so, and that she should
be glad to hear from you. I also told my Lady
Sunderland, who I suppose has writ long Since to
give thanks. I also told Lady Tennet (Thanet) and
others that you had them often in your thoughts.
I found a great many was very glad to hear your
Grace was got so well past that long journe}^ The
Queen is now ill of a great cold. . . . The Duchess
^ Hist. MSS. Com., 15^/1 Report, Buccleuch MSS., p. 347.
308 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
of Monmouth ^ last night kissed the King and Queen's
hands upon her marriage to Lord Cornwellis (sic),
and is very brisk. The Duchess of Porthmouth (sic)
is come into England, and looks as well as ever. But
the greatest piece of news of all is that (the) Queen
Dowager has altered her mind, and does not now go
her Lisbon voyage, which all people thinks her much
in the right for.
* (P.S.) — Since your Grace was so obliging as to say
you sent me some jacolet, I will tell you the truth,
that I never had it, but I give as many thanks as if
I had it. I wish I could find out by what hand it
was sent, because I had told the Queen of it. I am
sure who(m)s(o)ever you trusted, he is an ill man,
that has so deceived you. Mr. Strickland presents
his most humble service to your Grace, and is in-
finitely pleased to hear you are so well.' ^
The Duke received about the same time a letter
from his old neighbour, Thomas, Lord Petre of
Ingatestone Hall :
' INGOTZTON Hall, /line 19, 1688.
' I am sorry it was my misfortune not to wait on
your Grace just before you left England. I being
then in my journey from the bath : I understand by
Mr. Croft and Mr. Tendring that you have your
health very well since your arrivall in Jamaica : for
which I heartily rejoyse and hope to see you in some
few months att New Hall. Captain Petre, Jac Petre
of fidlers his brother, who I suppose has waited on
your Grace, ere this desires only your favorable
Countenance which, if your Grace, as I hope, will
not refuse, he is most confident, will prove a consider-
able advantage to him. ... I will troble y"" grace noe
further then to desier you to give mine and my spouses
most humble servis to my lady Duches. I remain Your
grace's most obedient servant Tho: Petre.*
(Addressed) * To the Duke of Albermale ' (sic).^
* Widow of the Duke of Monmouth.
* Hist. MSS. Com., i^th Report, Buccleuch MSS., p. 348.
' Montagu House MSS. Thomas, sixth Lord Petre, to Christopher,
Duke of Albemarle.
CHAPTER IV
The new Assembly from which so much was hoped
was not elected without much opposition and even
rioting. The old members were mostly defeated.
The ousted party insisted that violence had been
used at the polls to prevent them from voting. Albe-
marle reports that these complainants were the worst
offenders.
* There was unwarrentable opposition made in
most parishes, and malicious practices to prevent the
lawful Election by persons disaffected to his Maj*'^'^
Government here, especially at Clarendon where a
certain man whom I could not suspect in such case,
Col. Ivy, did with several others make a public riot,
for which I committed them to prison.' ^
Many arrests followed, and the list of fines is a long
one. Rioting was not the only objectionable prac-
tice on this occasion. In the list we note ;
* John Towers for speakeing Lattin vizt. : " Solus
Populi est Suprema Lex " being in ye judgment of ye
Court, Factious and Seditious — 600 pounds.' 2
The first meeting was made memorable by the
delivery of an opening speech to the Governor by
the new Speaker, who was no other than Chief
Justice EUerson. We quote his opening sentences :
* His late Grace of Albemarle (Gen^ Geo. Monck)
guided and assisted by the Devine hand, drew the
1 CO., 138 : 6, p. 159 ; Cal. State Papers, Col, 1685-8, § 1858. August
8, 1688, Albemarle to the Lords of the Committee.
2 CO., I : 65, No. 45 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1858.
X
310 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book ix.
lively emblem of a Second Creation by reducing a
Twelve years' confused State and Govern^ of England
to its ancient and ever to be esteemed and praised
Royall Authorit}^ and Power and was most instru-
mental in Settling the same upon the best and surest
foundations of Peace and Happiness.
' Our most Gracious Sovereign King James the
Second (to whom God grant a long and happy reign
over us) hath in his great wisdom and tenderness of
us, his Loyal, Dutiful and Obedient Subjects, con-
stituted your Grace (to the great and general satis-
faction of this Island) our Governor, whose accept-
ance thereof cannot otherwise be thought of here
than your own inclinations to and firm resolutions
of treading the Steps of your truly noble father, by
your doing the greatest good in your generation and
in particular by your recouvery of the dwindhng,
decaying, and at present sinking State and Condition
of this his Maj"^'^ Island of Jamaica, to its former
Loyalty, Strength and Vigor whereby we in our
Generation are not only bound heartily and constantly
to pray for the Peace and Prosperity of your Grace
and Family, but to convey it to our Children's
Children, for there (sic) due acknowledgment and
Gratitude.
' Let Peace and Prosperity be forever within your
Walls and Plenty within your Dwellings.' ^
The Duke's reply was brief but trenchant, and was
aimed at the centre of the island's political differences :
' I am glad,' said he, ' to find the country so sensible
that it chose ill men for the last Assembly. I promise
1 CO., I : 65, p. 30; Cal. State Papers, Col, 1685-8, § 1845. Open-
ing of the new Assembly, July 20, 1688. The Speaker's speech to the
Duke of Albemarle. CO., i : 65, p. 490; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-
8, § 1846. Observations from Jamaica upon the Speaker's speech.
A copy of this speech was sent to England. To this copy have been
added a list of accusations against the Speaker. The author's name
is not mentioned. The accusations include friendly relations with
pirates, being an adherent of Sir Henry Morgan, opposition to the
revenue bill, general unfriendliness to the Royal African Company,
Colonel Molesworth, and the late Governor Sir Thomas Lynch.
i688] THE SPEECH OF THE GOVERNOR 311
myself better things from you. You cannot be
ignorant of the many wicked and mahcious reports
spread abroad by ill-disposed persons, to make me
odious to the people to gain their own ends at the
elections. The proposals I have to make to you are
given to you written down.' ^
Albemarle gave a detailed report of the first meeting
of the Assembly in his letter of August 8 :
*Jamca, Aug. ye Zih, 1688.
' My Lords, — Since my last to yo"" Lo?^ bearing
date the 20th day of June last, the Assembly met the
20th of July and finished more business in (the) two
weeks they have Sate than the last did in two months,
soe that I doubt not but His Maj^'^'^ Royal Pleasure
will be more readily complied with than ever in this
Island hath been heretofore, being most of them
persons of known loyalty and integrity.' ^
He then recounts the titles and character of the Bills
already passed, in accordance with the King's six
proposals by the new Assembly. A complete account
of these Bills is given, under a later date, in the
Colonial Order Book. The following list is copied
from the later source instead of from Albemarle's
letter :
* I, An Act for better Government of Slaves.
* 2. An Act for raising money for Solliciting in
England the Affairs of Jamaica.^
' 3. An Act for Accertaining the Qualification of
Jurors.
* 4. An Act to Incourage and fecilitate the
conversion of Slaves to the Christian Religion *
1 CO., I : 65, No. 29; Cal. State Papers, Col, 1685-8, § 1844. The
Duke of Albemarle's speech, July 20, 1688.
» CO., 138 : 6, No. 29 ; Cal. State Papers, Col, 1685-8, § 1858.
August 1688.
* Heretofore the agents of the Royal African Company had acted in
like capacity for the island.
* Many masters refused baptism to their slaves, holding that the
fact of baptism gave freedom to the slave.
312 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
and for preventing inhuman Severity to Christian
Servants.^
* 5. An Act for regulating the weight and valuation
of foreign coins and accertaining Interest.^
* 6. An Act for the better restraining and more
severe punishment of perjury and subornation of
perjury and false swearing.
' 7. 'An Act for raising a Public Revenue to the King,
his heirs and Successors for the support and Govern-
ment of his Maj*'^'^ Island.' ^
These Acts passed by Albemarle's second Assembly
have been dwelt upon in detail because they are
spoken of in all the accounts of his administration
as being pernicious in character. Nothing could be
more unobjectionable than this list of laws. Due
allowance must be given to the heat of political strife
when many exaggerations are published. At such a
moment all the acts of an opposing party are declared
to be detrimental to the country and aimed to serve
selfish ends. Between the two parties in Jamaica
there may have been little to choose. Both were
turbulent and unmanageable, each strove to establish
its power primarily to serve selfish ends. However,
it is not easy to see how fault could be found with the
Acts passed by this Assembly.
Albemarle had made one more change in his Council,
Mr. John White—
' for several reasons but principally because he pleaded
for the most part as a Lawyer doth for his Fee against
His Majes^"^^ Interest 'whenever such happen 'd to
come before us in Council and that it has been made
appear to mee that he was a pensioner to St. Jaco de
» This would particularly refer to Monmouth's rebels, many of whom
had been shipped to the West Indies and sold.
* This act raised the value of pieces of eight from five shillings to six,
thereby causing great dissatisfaction to the Royal African Company.
» CO., 138 : 6, p. 296; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8: 294-5. At
the Court at Whitehall, July 25, 1689.
i688] STEPHEN LYNCH 313
Castello,'^ a Spanish merchant to plead for him as
well in Council (where the said White was a member)
as in any other place, let the business bee of what
nature or quality soever.'
This scandal concerning White is confirmed later
in the year in a letter of George Reid to Father
Churchill, together with other accusations against
St. Jaco, interesting but too complicated for the
present purpose. The planters' party also rejoiced
in the appointment * by his Maj^'^'^ order ' of the
admired Sir Henry Morgan to the Council. * I am
afraid (he) will not live long being extraordinary ill,*
says Albemarle.
The affairs of the French pirates had become so
involved that Mr. Lynch was reported to be himself
in jail together with his captives, who from their
prison had sworn out warrants against him. This
was the story Mr. Lynch sent to England. Albemarle
does not mention arresting Lynch, and George Reid,
in one of his letters to Father Churchill, says that
Lynch wilfully sent a false statement to England, and
adds that he was never put in jail.
Albemarle received letters from the King giving
him power to fight Biscayans according to his own
judgment. As a result of Lynch 's stories, a memor-
andum was attached to the letter informing the
Governor that Sir Robert Holmes (whose agent
Lynch was) —
' prays for his Majesty's pardon for all of them
(the pirates) and that Lynch may receive Letters of
Protection with orders to the Governor of Jamaica
that he may be discharged from his imprisonment.
Bonds or confinement, he may lye under being ready
to answer his Maj^'^, what is objected against
him.'
* The same Spaniard who had caused Father Churchill's removal.
314 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
But before this could reach Jamaica, Albemarle had
reported
* Several English privateers surrendered themselves
to His Maj^'^'^ Government of Bermudas according to
His Maj*^^'^ Royal Proclamation, who treated them
accordingly to the tenor thereof, and being dis-
charged part came down to this Island, where by Mr.
Lynch's Agent, their goods were seised, and soon after
their persons who are now in Port Royal Goale.' ^
The dispute as to authority between Albemarle and
Lynch had now reached an acute stage. Lynch
appeared at the Council Board and announced that
he was under no obligation to report to the Governor,
nor —
* y* any accounts of what he doth but to write to
Whitehall so that all are rendered obnoxious to his
private accohipt of affairs.*
George Reid's opinion of the matter is thus expressed :
' Sir Robe't Holmes's deputy here, one Mr, Lynch
makes things mighty uneasy (Siding with the discon-
tents). ... It is thought he will give the country
trouble enough and cause more privateers to go out,
than come in. Whereas had Command ben granted the
Duke, all those that are now out would have upon his
word (on his Hon'" [honour]) have come in, and now
they plainly see, its money designed to be got by
their coming in that's intended, which I wish with
all my heart were rectified. This way making the
French strong and we weak.' ^
The great pirate Captain Coxon and some of his
men salved their pride by surrendering to Albemarle
personally, and were by him handed over to Lynch.
^ CO., I : 65 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1802. Albemarle
to the Lords of Trade and Plantations.
' CO., I : 65, No. 90 ; Cal. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1947.
George Raid to Father Churchill, December 4, 1688.
i688] THE ISLE OF ALBEMARLE 315
For the Governor was well known among sea rovers.
Preserved in the British Museum are several books
of maps of voyages in the then mysterious Pacific.
They are beautifully coloured, and the title-pages
show the arms of the Duke of Albemarle, and a dedi-
cation to him by the Captains B. Sharpe, Hack, and
Cox. The Duke owes to these men, who combined
the vocation of explorer with that of pirate, a per-
petuation of his name in the western world. In the
Pacific Ocean, lying directly over the Equator, are
several islands known as the Galapagos group. The
largest of these was named by Cox, Albemarle.
Pictured in William Ambrose Crowley's Voyages,
its bays and points bear many familiar names, Eliza-
beth, Christopher, Potheridge, Cavendish. With two
London streets and a public-house, this island serves
to keep alive the name of the second Duke of
Albemarle.^
^ Where the name of Albemarle appears in the Carolinas and
Virginia it celebrates the memory of George Monck.
CHAPTER V
During the first months of Albemarle's administra-
tion the dismal prophecies of his physicians seemed in
no danger of fulfilment. Dr. Sloane was a physician
much in advance of his time, and successfully pre-
scribed for his patient. In spite of the frequent
bleedings, upon which Albemarle insisted in the face
of Dr. Sloane's objections, he was in better health
than he had been in several years.
* But,' says Dr. Sloane, * upon the occasion of
choosing a new Assembly (he) had frequently too
much company, he sometimes sate up too late and
drank too freely whereby he in a short time had in
one of his leggs a great pain.'
On this Dr. Sloane felt it his duty to warn his un-
manageable patient that if he did not take warning
he would * fall into his father the Gene^'^ distemper,
the dropsy.' ^ Less competent advisers assured the
Duke that he was suffering from erysipelas.
The Duke was more than usually deaf to advice.
The quarrel with Lynch had greatly irritated and
excited him. The tropical summer, spent in the
brick Government House, ^ had sapped his vitality,
while the change from his accustomed sherry to
Madeira wine had affected him badly. He now went
to spend a few days at Old Harbour at the invitation
^ Brit. Mus., Sloane MSS. 3984, fos. 282-4. ' Account of the
Illness and Death of Christopher, Duke of Albemarle.'
' CO., 140 : 4, p. 708 (not calendared). The repairs on the King's
House had been completed in March 1688, at a cost of ;^I92, i6s. 8d.
810
i688] THANKSGIVING AND REJOICING 317
of Sir Francis Watson ^ and Major Peaks, * where
meeting with much company he had occasion to make
merry too much, and to sit up too late at night.' ^
The joyous hospitaHty of Sir Francis and the Major
resulted in an entire justification of the physician's
warnings. On his return to town, the Duke became
so violently ill with his * usual jaundice ' as to be
* given over by the Doctors.' ^
Despite the fears of his physicians, he surprised his
household by surviving. At the end of six days, as
Captain Wright records. Port Royal was gay with
rejoicings over the Duke's unexpected recover3^ The
forts and frigates fired salutes, and though it was
August ' at night there was several bon-fires.' *
Three days later came a ship from London bearing
the joyful news of the birth of a Prince of Wales.^
These tidings called for more guns, bonfires, and re-
joicing for the greater part of another night. The
official letter to Albemarle announced in stately
periods the birth of ' A hopeful Son,' and gave orders
to * proclaim the event throughout the government
and to proclaim days of solemn thanksgiving for this
inestimable blessing,' and suitable rejoicings as he
himself should think fit. The more formal celebration
was postponed, not only to allow the Governor a
chance to recuperate his strength, but because the
island was suddenly cast into mourning.
Albemarle's fears for Sir Henry Morgan were well
founded. Two days after this good news was received
from the King, the old buccaneer passed away, sur-
^ Sir Francis Watson had an especial claim to Albemarle's friendship,
' having spent near forty years in the publick service under the Lord
Genl. Monck and their Majties where I enjoyed very honorable
commands.'
=* Brit. Mus., Sloane MSS. 3984, fos. 2S2-4. ' Account of the Ill-
ness and Death of the Duke of Albemarle.'
^ Log-book of the A ssistance. * Ibid.
* James, called the Old Pretender, was born June 16, 1688.
3i8 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
rounded by an odour of sanctity for which the story of
his Hfe Httle prepares us. After lying in state at the
King's House in Port Royal, the town which had so
often celebrated his triumphal returns from success-
ful ventures, his body was ' brought to the Church and
after a sermon was carried to the Pallasaudors and
there buried.' ^
Dr. Sloane improved the sad occasion by reminding
the Duke that ' Sir Henry Morgan, who was lately
dead of dropsey, had not been so ill six months ago,'
and that if he did not obey instructions he * was afraid
he would have the same end.' ^ This was advice
which the Duke did not rehsh, and, to Dr. Sloane's
indignation. Dr. Traphan, a local practitioner, was
called in consultation, who recommended the patient
to remove to Ligaunee for a change of air. Thither,
in accordance with this advice, the ducal party be-
took themselves. They were entertained by Chief
Justice Ellerson, the prolix Speaker of the Assembly,
at his plantation. Rain every day spoiled the visit,
and the sick Duke derived little benefit or pleasure
from the excursion. On his return to St. Jaco de la
Vega he found the weather unbearably hot. In
September the sea breeze failed, while terrific thunder-
storms shook the nerves, and gnats and mosquitoes
annoyed. But in spite of discomfort and illness, the
celebration in honour of the birth of the Prince of
Wales could no longer be postponed.
No record of this entertainment has been found, but
if it resembled the celebration given by the Governor
of Bermuda, we cannot wonder that its consequences
were disastrous.
* The Governor drank seven Royal healths in two
* Log-book of the Assistance.
* Sloane MSS. 3984, fos. 282-4. ' Account of the Illness and Death
of the Duke of Albemarle.'
i688] THE SINISTER MOON 319
central places amid regimental volleys from the foot
guards and universal acclamation of huzzas,' and then
as a climax : * A most magnificent entertainment
such as the present state of the West Indies never
saw and the future will admire. At the head of every
Company was set a quarter of a cask of wine, meat,
bread, and all necessaries for two thousand people
besides five hundred gentlemen at one table 250 feet in
length, entertained at the Governor's expense. The
ladies and other persons of Quality had Sweetmeats
the best that Europe and the West Indies afford.
At last a bon-fire of stupendous heigth being erected
at the Court Gate, the Governor, as a fresh patern of
loyalty, again drank the whole Royal Families healths,
the whole Island with guns, fire-works, and voices
echoing after him, " God save the King and Royal
Family.'"!
* Sometime after his (Albemarle's) return from
Legaunee,' says Sloane, * making merry on the
occasion of the Prince of Wales his birth, he was
taken with his usual jaundice.'
The Duke's case now proved desperate. The
usual remedies failing. Dr. Traphan was again called
in, * As one who understood the country diseases
having lived there several years.*
* He came in the morning before day, His Grace
being asleep. I told him his Grace's condition and
what I had given him, and when his Grace had
affirmed it, advised him to take a grain of Bird Pepper
in a potched egg, affirming parrots to flye to this as
to a naturel remedy and that it was very necessary
for everyone to take it in this climate.'
Strangely enough, Sloane, from the first, had attri-
buted the Duke's attacks of illness to his suscepti-
bility to certain phases of the moon, so that he entirely
disagreed with Dr. Traphan 's diagnosis. He continues :
* I decHned quarrelling with him. Thought my
» Cat. State Papers, Col., 1685-8, § 1876 ii.
320 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
case hard enough in that I was blamed by some for
want of success when his Grace would not take
advice.'
In spite of bird pepper, and bleeding, burning, and
cutting, the Duke improved once more. On October i
he had sufficient strength to write a letter to Lord
Craven :
^ October \ (1688).
' My Lord, — Inclosed I have sent y*" Ld'P a parti-
cular of what Acts have passed the Assembly of this
Island by Which y*" Ld^P will find, that I have used
my best endeavors to effect all that his Maj^'^ has
been pleased|to commanded (sic) me to observe in his
Instructions in doing of which (y"" L^^^p need not be
informed) that it is impossible for me to please all,
therefore shall not trouble your L^^p with particulars
but refer you to my letter to the Lords of the Com-
mittee, in which y'" Ldsh? will plainly see, that I have
made it my chiefest care to prefer the Service of the
King, my Master, and the general good of the people
of this Island, before any other consideration what-
soever, which I look upon (in the Station I am in) to
be a Duty incumbent upon me, I am further to
acquaint y'" LdshP that I have been so very ill, that
my Physicians utterly dispaired of my Recovery,
having applied their severest and last remedys, not
with standing which, it has pleased God to restore
me, and when I grow a little stronger shall give y*"
LdshP a more particular and I hope more satisfactory
account of his Maj*'^'^ affairs in this Island, in the
meantime I shall say no farther but I desire that y"^
LdshP will be pleased to present my most humble
Duty to His Maj^'^, wishing Your Ldsh? all imagin-
ary happiness I am, My Lord, Your Lordships Most
Obliged Friend and humble Servant,
' Albemarle.
* Since Mr. Lynch 's return from Porta Bella his
behavior to me and to the Council has been most in-
solent, and had he not been deputed from his Maj"=
as he is, I should not have failed to have given him a
i688] THE DEATH OF THE DUKE 321
deserved correction ; I do assure Y"^ LdshP that I can
make it appear that his ill management has been
above 100,000 pounds detriment to this Island already,
and what more it will prove God knows. The great
Pirate Coxon with Several of his men surrendered
themselves to me, whom I sent to Mr. Lynch as I
have done all others before. This comes to y"" LdshP
by the hands of Major Ralph Knight, who is one of
the Assembly sent on purpose by them to his Maj^'®.' ^
In pursuance of the Act of the Assembly, Major Ralph
Knight was chosen to go to England. He was to
bear with him the seven Acts passed by the Assembly
for royal confirmation, and also an address to the
King from the planters reciting their grievances,
* Complaining of many practices and abuses done
to his planters by the Factors of the Royal African
Company and particularly of many corruptions and
oppressions done and committed by Col. Hender
Molesworth in the time of his late Government, who
then was and ... is still Chief Factor of the said
Company.' -
While Major Knight tarried, waiting for a ship, to
the dismay of all the Duke grew rapidly worse. His
day of recovery had proved to be but the last bright
flicker of the flame. He now fell into a violent
delirium in spite of every remedy that could be used
in so desperate a moment.
Where was the Duchess, where were Mr. Latton
and those other faithful servants ? No record gives
a glimpse of what was passing about this tragic bed-
side. Dr. Sloane, true to his theory of sinister lunar
influence, abruptly draws the curtain : * The moon's
aspect being far from Change,' he explains, * so that
before then he dyed.'
1 CO., I : 65, No. 61 ; Cal. State Papers, Col, 1685-8, § 1890.
* But one small shipload of negroes landed in Jamaica during
Albemarle's administration.
322 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
Thus, on October 6, 1688, died Christopher, second
and last Duke of Albemarle, in the thirty-sixth year
of his life, far from all that made life good to him ; the
reforms he had tried to accomplish in Jamaica left
unfinished and ready to fall into chaos. Misrepre-
sented at home, no opportunity was given him for
explanations. The change of kings, coming as it
did so soon after his death, put all those friends and
adherents who would have defended his name out of
favour and power. Lord Bath, the Duke of New-
castle, and Father Churchill were too devoted to Kjng
James to have the ear of King William. Lord Danby
was too busy pushing his own fortunes and planning
affairs of State to remember a dead friend in far
Jamaica. So it was not so much the ' Malice of the
Whigs ' as the neglect of his friends that has left
Albemarle's name in all but oblivion.
Dr. Sloane's duties were not yet completed. With
the versatility with which all classes in the seven-
teenth century seem to have been endowed, he pro-
ceeded to act as embalmer, and successfully prepared
the body for its return to England. It was well Major
Knight had tarried. He could now be entrusted
with the task of informing the King that his island of
Jamaica was without a Governor. In the swift sail-
ing sloop Dove, chartered from Sir William Phips, the
Major started immediately for England with his
news.^ He reached London November 28, and found
the Court in a strange mood. The Prince of Orange
had landed in England on November 5 at Torbay, and
the courtiers looked strangely at each other and
darkly weighed the chances of the future.
The messenger from Jamaica found Bernard
^ CO., 140 : 4, p. 245 (not calendared) : ' Ordered the Receiver GenI,
to pay ;^3oo for the hire of the Sloop Dove . . . sent to England by
order of the Governor and Council to give notice to his Majtie of the
Duke's death.'
i688] NEWS RECEIVED AT WHITEHALL 323
Grenville lounging about an ante-room of Whitehall
talking with his friends, and to this group imparted
the story of the Duke of Albemarle's death. * Here 's
a great windfall for My Lord of Bath,' whispered one
courtier to another. Mr. Courtney of the Temple
congratulated Mr. Grenville on what he would have
thereby, and offered him, in a sporting spirit, £5000
for what he would get. Whitehall took its bereave-
ments lightly.^
The King had such grave matters to consider that
the grievances of a few Jamaica planters could be
quickly dismissed. As the Duke of Albemarle was
dead, the matter should quickly be adjusted in a
way to please the Royal African Company. On
December i the King issued an order cancelling all
laws passed in Jamaica since the Duke of Albe-
marle's installation as Governor. All offices, civil
and military, were restored to the men who held
them prior to the Duke's coming. Hender Moles-
worth, fortunately for him still in England, was
straightway knighted and made Governor. ^ When
these orders reached Jamaica, the inhabitants could
not believe them true. Yet true they were, and in
bitterness of spirit the Council's secretary wrote in
large letters under the note announcing King James's
flight and King William's accession :
' Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.'
King William only confirmed his predecessor's
edicts with regard to Jamaica. Fate, however,
arranged one small revenge for Albemarle's wrongs.
Sir Hender Molesworth died before he could leave
England for his Government, and Lord Inchiquin
1 Chan. Proc, Reynardson, vol. 426, No. 9. Answers of the Hon.
Bernard Grenville, Esq.
2 Cat. State Papers, Col., 1685-8 and 1689-92. See index under Moles-
worth. Hist. MSS. Com., 11th Report, p. 239 (Dartmouth MSS.).
324 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
finally received the Governorship. In due time he
reached Jamaica. His first letter to the Lords of the
Committee should have given some peace to Albe-
marle's unquiet spirit. He wrote that he found
matters in Jamaica far worse than he had imagined
while in England, and on investigation had decided
that the mischiefs proceed not, as he once thought,
from
* some late transactions but from a series [sic] of fifteen
or sixteen year standing of turbulent and pernicious
advises which I am persuaded would put all into un-
quenchable flames here had (it) not (been for) ye
prudence of some Governos. . . . And since it has
been so long taking root, your h'^^P will not wonder if
I work not so sudden a cure as might be wished for.' ^
In the hands of Lord Inchiquin the affairs of
Jamaica must rest, that we may return to the autumn
of 1688 to find the Duchess of Albemarle mourning
for her dead lord.
^ Cal. State Papers, Col., i68g-g2. See index under William O'Brien,
Earl of Inchiquin, July 6, 1690.
CHAPTER VI
The death of the Duke left the poor Duchess in a sea
of trouble, and with no one upon whom she could
depend for counsel and protection. Even Captain
Monck^ was, for the moment, out of reach, having
taken the Duke's yacht to Boston for repairs. Owing
to political differences, the island was in a state of
almost armed rebellion, and from the moment of the
Duke's death the unruly element was under but sHght
restraint. The story of the Duke's great treasure,
which all men lounging about the port had seen
coming into harbour month by month, caught the
ears of the pirates and freebooters. The Duchess
and her gold and silver ingots lay unguarded in the
King's House an easy prey to daring men. Picture,
then, the terror of the lady who, surrounded by
her possessions, beheld some of the most notorious
buccaneers all but camped about her house ready to
secure her person and her riches at the first oppor-
tunity. In this crisis the loyal Assembly ralHed as
one man to the support of their * Disconsolate Prin-
cess.' 2 These hardy, stern-visaged men, standing as
they did accused of sharp practices, disloyalty, and
even deeds of bloodshed, now gave themselves up to
a very ecstasy of chivalric devotion to their bereaved
Duchess. On learning of her danger, the mihtia,
abandoning all other duties, rushed to her rescue, and
^ See p. 64.
* CO., 140 : I, pp. 249-52 ; Cat. State Papers, 1685-8, § 1944,
Dec. 6, 1688, Minutes of the Council of Jamaica.
Y
326 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
under loyal officers, continued to guard her day and
night for many months. They even accompanied her
to Guanaboa, whither she and her goods were pre-
sently moved. For the health of the Duchess, already
impaired by the tropical climate, suffered greatly from
the shock caused by the death of the Duke, and
it was thought wise to remove her from the King's
House. The Duchess was not lacking in gratitude.
She wrote to the Council expressing her thanks for
their care :
* The debt is so great,' said she, ' that I can find no
other way of repayment but that one Act of generosity
begetts another by rewarding itself, and it will en-
courage all others to leave their country to imitate
my good fortune.' ^
This message was received by the Council with
mediaeval fervour. Summoning the Assembly, the
Acting Governor assured them that as a reward for
their care, ' he was well assured . . . that when her
Grace came to England (she) would endeavor to
do this Island all the good she could.' And the de-
lighted Assembly informed his Honour ' That they
could do no less than they had for so disconsolate a
Princess and in Memory of My Late Lord Duke.' ^
Letters addressed to the Duke continued to arrive
from England. One written by the King was full of
angry remonstrance of what had been represented to
him as interference with the rights of Sir Robert
Holmes and of the agent Lynch. Such a letter would
have cut the loyal Albemarle to the heart, and he was
mercifully dead before its receipt. With this came
orders counselling watchfulness against the Dutch,
from whom the King now feared an invasion . Another
1 CO., 140 : I, pp. 249-52 ; Cat. State Papers, 1685-8, § 1944, Dec. 6,
1688, Minutes of the Council of Jamaica.
» Ibid.
i688] FATHER CHURCHILL 327
letter from Father Churchill reported his success at
Court, all unknowing what had occurred in far
Jamaica.
«^^&er i5«A, '88.
* My Lord, — These I hope will finde your Grace
in perfect health and well recovered past dainger of
anie Relaps ; ten weekes I was at Sea and I landed at
Falston neare Hide in Kent October 15th ; the 17th
I got to London, the eighteenth I presented his
Maj^'^ with the mappes, W'^ the Minutes of the
Councell and the Sealed Evidence, and the Address
of Your Grace, the Councell and the Assembly ; his
Maj^'^ received me verie gratiously and his afflicted
minde cleared up w'^ pleasing Smile and Sweetness
to hear of your recovery. The Mappes he reserved
to himself ; the Minutes of the Councell and sealed
papers he commanded me according to My directions
to deliver into the handes of Mr. Blathwaite, and the
Address returned to me with commands that I should
present myself w*^ it the next morning at his Levie
publickly, w'^^ accordingly I did, in the presence of
Mr. Brent and Mr. Bendlos.
* His Maj''^ thanked me for it and promised me it
should be printed, this was on Friday, October 19th,
but finding it came not out on Monday, nor on
Thursday, following, I repayred again to his Maj''^
who gave this answer to me : I have sent it to be
printed : hereupon I went to Mr. Minstephens and
questioned him why it was not printed, who made
this Reeply, that till Tuesday he did not receive it
from My Lord Sunderland, that on Thursday the
reception of our Embasador at the Turkish Court
filled up the Gazet, but on Munday it should be
printed. On Munday he and the Lord Sunderland
were out of Office. I got therefore Mr. Brent to get
the Address out of the Office to have it printed the
next Gazet day ; he did so and complemented the
next Secretary of State w^^ it, the Lord Middleton,
who refused to print it, because it had not the Island's
seale nor the Addressor's subscriptions to it, and be-
cause it reflected upon former Governors he looked
upon it as a private paper onlie.
328 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
' I had my Answer readie to give unto his Maj^'^
in this wise, it was not to be expected that the
Secretaries of such fforeign Islands should be in all
things as exact as our Ministers of State at home, that
they judged it sufficient that it was the same and
written in the same hand w*^ the Minutes of the
Councell sent over and lodged in Mr. Blathwaite's
hands, where it stands recorded w^^ all the addressors
names, and as to the second objection my intended
answer was, if Governour, Councell and Assembly may
not reflect upon such as use them ill, how can the
Grievances of the people come to their Sovereign's
Eare, or how can he redress them ; this I had in
answer but could not give it in, his Maj^'^y haveing his
mind too much filled w*^ the concerns of home.
* By that time I was three or four dayes here Newes
was brought me his Maj''^ was upon the point of
giveing Col. Molesworth his discharge, upon w^^
I went to his Maj^y to let him know that Col.
Molesworth had left the Government in debt 446
pounds odd money, that he had charged revennew
w*^ almost 2000 pounds more, and further I prayed
his Majtie he would not give him a full discharge till
he had made up his Accoumpt belonging to the
African Company. . . . — Your Grace's Most humble
Servant, Thomas Churchill.' ^
In the same mail came a letter to the Duchess from
Dr. Barwick. He was now quite blind, but he not
only managed many business matters for the Duchess
at this time, but continued to act for her in the years
to come. He, too, as will be seen, was still ignorant
of the Duke's death.
'Nov. bth, 1688.
' May it please yo^ G^, — The money w*^^ yo"^ Gr.
return 'd by Dr. Churchill to Mr. Pigot is now in Mr.
Bows's hand. I met Dr. Churchill this morning, and
he says my Lord Duke was better of his dry Gripes.
As for the 400 pounds w^^ My Lord Duke returns
over to be payd by Mr. Mell for yo*" Grace's use the
* Montagu House MSS.
1689] WILD RUMOURS 329
Commissioners of Trust have made an order upon
it, but my Lord Duke[s] Rents are so far anticipated
by every one's calling for money that I know not
when it will be payd ; and I found some objection too
in getting it accepted because My Lord Duke had
geven no advise of it to the Trustees, though M. Mr.
(sic) Mell acknowledged he had received advise of it
from Mrs. Wright.^ The Duchess of Newcastle not
having heard from Jamaica of a great while I gave
her Grace some account of My Lord Duke's Condition
when the last leters came from Jamaica. I understand
that the D. of Newcastle is very zealous for y^ K.
[King] against the P. of Orange and is made L.
Lieutenant of all three Ridings of Yorkshire, but
things are rather wors the [n] beter with his own
family at Welbeck.^
' I fear yo"^ Gr. can not read this Leter, I am sure I
can not myself.
* My Wife and Daughter give their humble duty
to yo'' Gr. We are in howerly expectation of hearing
of an invasion by the P. of Orange in some part of
the West, for that way he has gone with his Fleet, and
it is likely we shall hear of a sea-fight between the
Prince and my Lord Dartmouth who commands the
King's Ships. — I am, May it please yo'' Grace, Yo"^
Grace's old blind faithfuU Servant,
' Pe. Barwick.' 3
On January 23, 1689, the Jamaicans received a
proclamation from King James announcing the land-
ing in England of William of Orange. Then came
black, mysterious silence. No ships came from
England, no letters or proclamations. All through
that winter in Jamaica the little colony knew not
what to do. Wild rumours came to them from un-
authorised sources that their king was king no longer,
and that William of Orange reigned in his stead. It
^ Mrs. Wright was one of the Duchess's attendants.
* Such was the loyalty of the Duke of Newcastle to King James
that he seldom left his bed after the triumph of the Prince of Orange.
^ Montagu House MSS., addressed to the Duchess.
330 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
behoved them to take great care what steps they
took in so grave a matter, for the rumours might well
be unfounded. Men looked this way and that, and
knew not what course to pursue. One duty lay
clearly before them, whoever might be king in
England, the Duchess of Albemarle, with her still
unburied husband, could not longer delay her return
voyage.
The Assistance, under command of Captain Wright,
was once more fitted with its additional cabins and
with plentiful store of provision. The Duke's yacht,
returned from its refitting in Boston, stood ready to
bear its sorrowful burden. ' March 7th,' says the
log-book of the Assistance, * about twelve at night the
Duke's corps was put on board the yacht, the next
morning, mourning colours hoisted up.' On Friday,
March 15, all preparations were completed. In the
darkness of night the Duchess was escorted on board
the frigate by Dr. Hans Sloane, who was now estab-
lished as sole guardian and protector of the widowed
lady. With her came her treasure, her plate, her
five hundred tons of furnishings, and her numerous
retinue of servants. In a state of fear the voyagers
made ready to sail forth upon the high seas. One last
moment of anguish now confronted the Duchess.
At the instant of sailing, Mr. Lynch came aboard
the frigate,
* privately . . . without any ticket or giving security
according to Law and Custom, and no Attorney to
answer the demands of the French about some
Indians whom Lynch had seized and sold as slaves.
. . . My Lady Duchess was much concerned that
Mr. Lynch should go on board a frigate wherein she
thought to have sailed with My L°'^ body.'
Vain were the tears of the Duchess, vain the
commands of the Acting-Governor. Captain Wright,
1689] THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE 331
in haste to depart, disquieted at the thought of what
he might find in England, abruptly replied to both
that he would as soon obey Lynch's order as the
Acting-Governor's. And sail Lynch did in open de-
fiance of the colonial authorities. Sir Francis Watson
sadly comments :
' Mr Lynch could not be so acceptable to sail home
in the same ship with y^ Duchess having been the
occasion of much disquiet and troubel to ye Duke
whilst he lived.' ^
Next day the frigate set sail, accompanied by the
yacht and a convoy of thirteen merchantmen. ^
Dr. Sloane is the historian of the homeward voyage.^
The log-book of the Assistance also supplies details.
The little fleet set out most anxiously upon the sea.
All sorts of wild fragmentary rumours had reached
them of the progress of the revolution in England,
The voyagers looked daily with intense eagerness for
outward bound ships that might bring them news,
for they particularly desired to know if war had been
declared between England and France. When they
sighted a sail they pursued it, and ' found it as
desirous of avoiding them as they of meeting it.'
The Duchess and her adviser were worn with anxiety.
The Albemarle treasure, together with the plate
and jewels, would form a rich prize if they should
be captured by a French frigate. Many were the
discussions between them. Finally one day, when
they had been at sea some two or three weeks, in
^ CO., 138 : 6, 316-9; April 22, 1689. Sir Francis Watson to the
Lords of Trade.
* CO., 140 : 4, p. 264, January 20, i68f. The Receiver-General
reports that he had paid the Duke of Albemarle several sums of his
salary on account, but the Duke ' had happend to dye ' before he had
signed any orders for the same. The balance due the Duke's estate
was 93 pounds 85 shillings.
* Quoted by Edwards, Founders of the British Museum, ' Sloane,'
p. 276.
332 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
conversation, the Duchess, Dr. Hans Sloane, and
Captain Lawrence Wright fell into discussion of the
probable situation of affairs in England.
The Duchess, determined to save her goods at all
costs, gave voice to words of admiration for William
of Orange. Had she not secured that diamond ring,
gift of the Prince to William Chapman, quite ten
years ago ? ^ Perhaps she wore the jewel at the
moment. She had no cause to love ICing James.
His treatment of her husband was fresh in her mind,
and if she had forgotten, Mr. Lynch, pacing the deck
under her very eyes, was sufficient reminder.
Captain Wright enlarged upon his duty in this
crisis of affairs. He was evidently a devoted ad-
herent of the Stuarts. His log-book records for each
January 30 :
' In Remembrance of that horrid murder of Our
Blessed Sovereign Charles i., we wore our colours
half-mast.*
His celebration of each royal birthday is marked
by every proper observance. He argued for King
James, and thus announced his final decision : ' I can-
not fight any ship having King James's commission,
from whom I received mine.' He intimated that if
he found the King in exile he would make all speed to
France, and place himself and his frigate at the dis-
posal of his rightful King. The frightened Duchess
besought him to reconsider, for she did not fancy the
idea of landing in a foreign country with all her
chattels and her dead husband. The captain re-
mained immovable. ' On hearing this assurance,'
writes Dr. Sloane, * which seemed to open to her the
prospect . . . of being carried to France,' the Duchess
resolved on desperate measures. Nothing less than
* See p. 104.
1689] DESERTION OF THE ASSISTANCE 333
to change her ship, taking all her wealth with her.
She, with Dr. Sloane and her whole suite, left the
Assistance in mid-ocean and re-embarked on the
Duke's yacht, only to transfer later in the midst of a
thunderstorm to the Generous Hannah, one of the
convoy of merchantmen. Dr. Sloane, that gentle
squire of dames, indignantly proceeds :
' Our admiral (Wright) pretended he wanted water
and must make the best of his way to England and
without waiting to convoy us home, which he accord-
ingly did.'
Captain Wright pictured himself the victim of
feminine caprice, that the Duchess could not decide
between England or Virginia as her destination, and
that needing water himself, he left her steering for the
latter port. * She wisht me a good voyage,' says he,
and we figure the haughty disdain with which she
penned the message.
Now indeed was the Duchess, protected only by
such few guns as the merchant fleet possessed, at the
mercy of any chance sea-rover she might encounter.
The little fleet felt their way across the sea, a prey
to varying emotions, eluding every sail that showed
above the horizon. As they neared Plymouth, it
became apparent to all that authentic news must
be secured before landing. Dr. Hans Sloane again
proved himself a worthy pattern of chivalry.
Under cover of darkness he set forth in an armed
row-boat to pick up what news he could. As he
neared the coast, he perceived some fishermen ;
hailing these, who made unavailing efforts to escape
him, the determined man of science put the
question :
* How does the King ? '
A safe enough question, he thought, and committed
334 THE GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA [book viii.
no man to any political party. To which the fisher-
men replied as cautiously :
* Which King do you mean ? King William is well
at Whitehall, King James is in France.'
This was news enough to guide the travellers.
They landed on May 30 at Plymouth in a heavy rain :
the Duchess, her dead Duke, her plate and jewels and
treasure, her servants and all their gear.
In the harbour, with astonishment, they beheld
the Assistance riding at anchor. Captain Wright had
had leisure on his voyage to consider his future pros-
pects. He prudently had sailed into Plymouth, and
had sworn fealty to King William.
The sorrowful journey of the Duchess was not
yet finished. The mourning cavalcade took its way
through the blossoming hedges of June to London.
The last night of the journey was spent in Kensington.^
So the long sad office was accomplished, and the Duke
was buried in the Abbey Church at Westminster in
the vault with his father and mother. So quietly did
this burial proceed that none have recorded the event.
The days were too full of stirring deeds for men's
thoughts to dwell upon the dead.^
So lived and died Christopher Monck, last Duke
of Albemarle. His was the life of an average young
I Brit. Mus., Stowe MSS. 747, fo. 12.
'Herald's Office, ^d Dec. 1692.
' May it please yr Ld3HP., — . . . . The Duke dyed at St. Jaco
de la Vega (Spanish Town) in Jamaica, 6 Oct., 1688, was buried at
Westminster in June 1689, near to his father. He was brought by sea
to Plymouth, and thence to Kensington. . . , — Yr. Ldsp.'s Most, etc.,
' Gregory King,
' Lancaster.
' For the Rt. Honble. the Earl of Clarendon,
' at Swallowfield, near Reading,
' Barkshire.'
' Chester : The Register of Westminster Abbey makes his burial
July 4, 1689. See also Stanley, Annals of Westminster Abbey, p. 211.
1689] LOYALTY AND STEADFASTNESS 335
nobleman of the latter half of the seventeenth century.
With all his gay spirit, full of vitality and resource,
strangely enough he left no lasting mark upon his day.
Both his rank and his personal ambition led him to
mingle in great afiFairs both of state and of society,
and he bore himself in these relations with fidelity to
the principles of simple loyalty and steadfastness in
which he had been nurtured. These very qualities,
applauded in his own day and valued in our times
as well, worked greatly to his undoing, and his brief
life of scant thirty-five years shows his achievements
uncompleted and his ambitions unsatisfied. His un-
timely end reveals but one fortunate circumstance.
Coming as it did at the moment of transition from
the house of Stuart to that of Orange, the death of
Albemarle saved him the pain of choosing between
King James, to whom he had shown every evidence
of loyalty, and the Prince of Orange, whom he had
always admired and under whom he had so ardently
desired to serve.
BOOK IX
THE MAD DUCHESS
' I 'd lay a Province at your Feet, to make
you mine ; you say but yes, and are a
Queen.'
BURNABY, Ladies' Visiting Day.
CHAPTER I
The burial of the Duke having been accomplished,
the widowed Duchess of Albemarle took her way to
Welbeck Abbey .^ She was still suffering from the
effects of her year in the tropics, and she hoped to
find rest and health under her father's roof. In this
she was disappointed, for little comfort could be found
in a home where the family were divided in their
allegiance. The Duke of Newcastle had remained true
to King James, while his Duchess and her daughter
Margaret had made their peace with William and
Mary. The Duchess of Albemarle was the means of
arranging one family matter. For, ' on her knees,'
she persuaded her father to consent to the marriage
of Lady Margaret Cavendish to the Earl of Clare. ^
This sisterly act accomplished, the Duchess retired
to Newhall. Here Dr. Sloane attended her, and con-
ducted an animated correspondence with Dr. Bar-
wick on the subject of the health of their patroness
and also of her business affairs. The Duchess suffered
greatly from the cold, and Dr. Barwick wrote :
' I doubt not but ye will put my Lady Dutchess in
mind to go warmer both by night and day than
formerly.' ^
In another letter he conjured Dr. Sloane to ' wean
1 Welbeck MSS.
'^ Welbeck MSS. Evidence of Richard Wright of Nottingham, Gent.,
Housekeeper of Nottingham Castle. Evidence of William Wilson, of
Belvoir Castle, Gent.
» Brit. Mus., Sloane MSS., 4036, fo. 57.
331)
340 THE MAD DUCHESS [book ix.
her for ever from her fond love of Oatmeal.* In
January 1690 the Duchess had sufhciently recovered
to be able to * wait on both the Queens . . . and
likewise her Royal Highness,' ^ where she doubtless
found ' the Gracious Reception ' her friends so much
desired for her,^
The Duchess had need of good health and royal
favour to carry her through the trials that awaited
her. Even before the body of the Duke of Albemarle
had reached England, disputes arose over the dis-
position of his estate. The Earl of Bath coming to
London from Plymouth, brought the will of 1675 that
had been entrusted to him by Albemarle. It had been
preserved all these months in Lady Bath's strong-
box. With it was the deed of 1681, which served
to strengthen and confirm the earlier will. The
Duchess of Newcastle, as custodian of the will of 1687,
journeyed by coach from Welbeck through ways miry
with the rains of spring.^
These two wills were examined in the Chambers of
Sir Thomas Stringer, in the presence of many notable
gentlemen.* The weakest point in the validity of the
last will lay in the matter of witnesses. According
to the deed of 1681, that deed and the will of 1675
could not be revoked except by another will, signed
by six witnesses, three of whom were to be peers, and,
^ Queen Mary, Catherine, the widow of Charles ii., and the Princess
Anne.
* Brit. Mus., Sloane MSS., 4036-58. Dr. Barwick to Dr. Sloane.
' Welbeck MSS. Exhibits in proceedings touching the will of the
second Duke of Newcastle. Letter of Henry Cavendish, second Duke
of Newcastle, to his wife, April 18, 1689 : ' Ye ways cannot be soe badd
as when you went up ; you may if you please make it six dayes in-
coming.'
* One of the three original drafts of the will of 1687 is preserved at
Somerset House. Certified copies of the wills of 1675 and 1687, with
the deed of 1681, are found among the Welbeck MSS. They were made
for Henry, Duke of Newcastle, who was named as one of the Duke of
Albemarle's executors.
i689] TWO WILLS 341
in the revoking of the deed, the sum of sixpence
must change hands. Now the will of 1687 had but
three witnesses, none of them were peers, and no six-
pence had been in evidence. All of which omissions
strengthens the belief that the Duke of Albemarle
never intended the will of 1687 to stand.
The wills were similar in that they each provided
for the erection of a monument in memory of the
Moncks in Westminster Abbey, to cost five thousand
pounds. In memory of the Duke's mother, Anne,.
Duchess of Albemarle, alms houses for twenty poor
widows were to be erected. Fifteen hundred pounds
might be spent on the building, and two hundred
pounds per annum was provided as endowment..
The Duchess was supplied with an annual income
of eight thousand pounds, together with the use of
Newhall during her life. In case of her remarriage,,
the plate and furnishings were to belong to the
inheritor of Newhall. Furthermore, the domestic
servants at their usual pay were to be retained for
three months following Albemarle's death, and were
then to receive six months' salary.
In the first will all the Monck female cousins were
remembered with sums varying from one to five
thousand pounds. In the last will they received
but forty pounds each, excepting Mary Fairwell,.
who was to have the Manor of Midgeham and the
Tide Mills, and the lands in Berkshire and Lincoln-
shire. By the same will Arthur Fairwell, her son^
received an annuity of one hundred and seventy
pounds during the life of the Duchess, and one hun-
dred pounds to provide for his education.
The great difference between the wills appeared
in the disposition of the main part of the estates.
According to the will of 1675, the larger part of the
estates was to go to John, Earl of Bath, and his
z
342 THE MAD DUCHESS [book ix.
heirs-male ; while generous bequests were made to
other members of the Grenville family. The King
was, moreover, reminded and besought to make good
his promise to grant the title of Duke of Albemarle
to the Earl of Bath, and ' that the eldest son of that
family and so successively may be called by the name
of Lord Monck.' ^ The will of 1687 made a starthng
change. All the lands in Ireland were left to Henry
Monck, * resident in Ireland,' who by the previous
will received but one thousand pounds. To Colonel
Thomas Monck, who in the early will was to receive
a like sum, was left the greater part of the whole
estate. In fact, just what by the earlier will was left
to Lord Bath. This will contained a petition to the
King to grant to Colonel Monck the title of Baron
Monck of Potheridge.
There was nothing for the rival heirs to do but have
recourse to the law to determine which will should be
declared valid. The affair was further complicated
by the fact that Colonel Thomas Monck had pre-
deceased the Duke, and that his claims were inherited
by a young son, Christopher, now only fourteen years
of age.
In the first trials the judgments were for the Earl
of Bath. 2 But, in 1692, the Duchess introduced a
further complication. She had not been in good
health of either body or mind since her return from
Jamaica, and, in February 169^, the Duke of New-
castle was heard to say that * his daughter the
Duchess of Albemarle was not capable of managing
1 Hist. MSS. Com. Report. Stuart Papers, vol. i. p. 2. Promise of
Charles 11. to Lord Bath that in case George Monck and his son have no
issue he shall have the house and park of Theobald's, and shall be Duke
of Albemarle and Lord Monck (Brussels, April 2, 1660). This agreement
casts doubt upon the assertion that George INIonck received no pro-
mises of reward previous to his meeting with the King at Canterbury.
* See Luttrell's Diary under dates ranging from 1690 to 1710.
1691] A SUCCESSFUL WOOER 343
any estate.' ^ Later in the same year the Duchess
of Newcastle wrote to Lord and Lady Thanet, that
your ' Sister Albemarle is incapable of anything.' ^
After the death of the Duke of Newcastle,^ his will
was also the subject of a lawsuit among his daughters
and their husbands. When the agent of one of the
aggrieved parties came to the Duchess of Albemarle
to engage her therein, he
* found her incapable of giving any orders therein
and . . . refused to procure any order from her or
act under the same by reason of her inabihty of under-
standing to give one.'
All of which serves to prove that the mental state of
the Duchess was well known to her family. Yet she
was left to the mercies of her women, Mary and Sarah
Wright and Elizabeth Stamp.*
The old Duke of Newcastle, always desirous of a
grandson, just before his death had ' desired his
daughter the Duchess of Albemarle to marry again
that she might have children.' ^ Either on the advice
of her father or because of the importunities of her
suitors, the Duchess determined to wed. She was
barely thirty-six and still held some claim to beauty.
The story of her riches was well known. A curious
tale is told of the methods of the successful wooer.
Horace Walpole seems to be responsible for the
narration, for no earlier relation of it has been
found.
Lord Montagu, who had frequently crossed the
1 Welbeck MSS. Evidence of Richard Neale of Mansfield Wood-
house, Gent. Suit touching will of Henry, Duke of Newcastle.
« Welbeck MSS.
* Henry, Duke of Newcastle, died July 26, 1691.
* Wife of Sir Thomas Stamp.
'" Welbeck MSS. Lawsuit in connection with the will of Henry,
second Duke of Newcastle ; evidence of Sir Henry Monson of Burton,
Bart.
344 THE MAD DUCHESS [book ix.
path of the Duke of Albemarle, was at this time a
widower,^ and planning to rebuild his great mansion
in Bloomsbury, lately destroyed by fire. He had
played an important role as diplomatist and courtier
throughout three reigns, and had lately been created
Viscount Monthermer for his services by William of
Orange. He is said to have combined a real taste for
the fine arts with an almost abnormal desire for pomp
and display. Great wealth was necessary that he
might gratify these propensities. It is impossible to
impute his campaign for the hand of the wealthy
Duchess of Albemarle to anything but unworthy
motives. The lady was known to be insane. The
overweening pride which had long been her bane, had
at last become an obsession. She was said to have
declared that she would condescend to marry none
but a monarch. The story seems hardly credible,
but is never omitted in any modern record of the
event. Just where the widowed Duchess was living
at the moment does not appear. Perhaps at
Newcastle House or even Newhall. To her, accord-
ing to tradition, Lord Montagu made his way. He
was willing to make every effort to win the lady and
her wealth. In order to come within the require-
ments of her desires, he had habited himself as the
Emperor of China. As he is described as of middle
stature, inclined to be fat, and of a coarse, dark com-
plexion, the effect could hardly have been pleasing
to the unprejudiced eye." Where was the watchful
Dr. Sloane, the faithful Dr. Barwick ? Suspicion
rests upon the women attendants of the Duchess,
who must have assisted at this unhappy scene. The
1 His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas
Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, and widow of Josceline Percy,
eleventh and last Earl of Northumberland. See p. 60.
? Granger, Biographical History, vol. ii. p. 36.
X
1692] THE EMPEROR OF CHINA 345
seeming emperor wooed and won the poor mad lady,
whom he married on September 8, 1692.^ At what
place and by whom married remains a mystery,
though the judges of various courts tried in vain to
elicit the truth from the voluble sisters Wright.
Sometimes they swore she was married, sometimes
that she was not, as they perceived their own interests
were best served.
Lord Montagu received at least two expressions of
congratulations on the occasion. The first was from
Lord Thanet, the brother-in-law of the bride :
' The news of your Lordship's marriage was not
more surprising then pleasing to mee since I am
certaine it will on all account (s) bee extreamely to
the satisfaction of my Lady Duchesse and all her
relations that wishe her prosperitye and mee in
particular who shall desier one (sic) all occations to
expresse myself 3^our Lordships most humble servant
' Thanet.
'HOTHFIELD the l6 Sep. 92.' ^
Richard, Lord Roos, the rival suitor for the hand
of the lady, thus expresses his feelings in verse :
' Insulting rival never boast
Thy conquest lately won,
No wonder that her heart was lost
Her senses first were gone.
For one that 's under Bedlam's laws
What glory can be had
For love of thee was not the cause
It proves that she was mad.' ^
Lord Montagu had no mind to allow Lord Bath
* This incident of the wooing of the Duchess of Albemarle was used
by several dramatists of the period. See Burnaby, The Ladies' Visiting
Day.
2 Montagu House MSS. Sixth Earl of Thanet to the Earl of
Montagu.
2 Henry Savile, brother of Lord Hahfax, also aspired to the hand
of the Duchess of Albemarle.
346 THE MAD DUCHESS [book ix.
to enjoy the Albemarle estates, and he threw himself
into the lawsuits with vigour. Piles of dusty parch-
ments at the Record Office and the House of Lords,
bearing the title of Montagu v. Bath, testify to the
heat of the controversy. Narcissus Luttrell notes in
his Journal many hearings in various Courts of the
famous case.
In 1694 a new action drove Montagu and Bath to
join forces against a common enemy. The Monck
cousins, under the leadership of Mr. and Mrs. Sher-
win,^ started a suit to prove that the marriage of
George Monck and Anne Clarges was not legal, owing
to the fact that Anne's first husband, Radford, was
said to be living at the time of her second marriage.
Consequently Elizabeth Sherwin claimed the Monck
estates as eldest heir of George Monck. Many queer
figures appeared in Court, including Anne Clarges'
old neighbours from the Strand, Christopher's nurse.
Honour Mills, servants and apprentices. Dark
stories came to light. Each side accused the other
of perjury, and sometimes with reason. Witnesses
died sudden and mysterious deaths, houses fell on
others. Even suicide was added to the catastrophes
laid at the door of the great lawsuit.^ But in spite of
years of endeavour, the Monck cousins could not
substantiate their claim.
In an attempt to end the suit, Lord Bath and Lord
Montagu determined to purchase the great estates
of Theobald's, Clitheroe, and the ancestral Potheridge
from the Monck claimants. Disagreements among
the Moncks interfered with this settlement. Lord
Bath, however, finally secured Potheridge in Devon,
by payment to Mrs. Pride and her son of eight
* Elizabeth Pride, descendant of the regicide. See pp. 50-51.
^ The Sherwins printed their story of the case : ' Tlie Case of the Heirs
at Law to George Monck, late Duke cf Albemarle. Printed and sold by
B. Bragg, at the Sign of the Black Raven in Pater Noster Row, 1709.'
1698] THE EiMPRESS OF CHINA 347
thousand five hundred pounds, while the Honour of
Clitheroe in Lancashire went by purchase from Mrs.
Sherwin to Lord Montagu.
In 1702 the Earl of Bath, John, Lord Grenville,
Sir Walter Clarges, and Sir Bevil Grenville secured a
perpetual injunction, and stopped the proceedings of
the heirs-at-law until June 28, 1709, when the whole
case was brought forth again, and the Lord Chancellor
dismissed their Bill with costs to be paid to the heirs-
at-law.^
In 1698 Lord Bath had entered into an agreement
with Lord Montagu and his wife, for certain considera-
tions not mentioned, to relinquish all right to the
estates left to the Duchess during her life.^ Although
the name of the Duchess appears with bewildering
frequency on many legal documents, she had dis-
appeared utterly from view. Living obscurely in the
great new Montagu House, ^ it was whispered that the
fable of the Emperor of China was still used ; that
she was treated as an Empress by her women. Later
she dropped so completely into oblivion that witnesses
speak of her as dead, and Lord Montagu was obliged
to produce her in the House of Lords to prove her
living. Both he and Lord Bath evidently believed
that she would not live long and they could afford to
wait. Her death would settle many disputes far
better than any Court of Law.*
Lord Bath, as a last precaution, by fair means or
^ ' The Case of the Heirs at Law to George Monck, late Duke of Albe-
marle. Printed and sold by B. Bragg, at the Sign of the Black Raven
in Pater Noster Row, 1709.'
* Welbeck MSS., Oct. i, 1698. Indenture between John, Earl of Bath,
of the first part, and Ralph, Earl of Montagu, and his wife, Duchess
of Albemarle, of the second part. Signed and sealed by Lord Bath.
' Afterwards used for the first home of the British Museum.
* Lord Bath, as trustee in the matter of the Gentlemen Adventurers,
was also engaged in a lawsuit instituted by them and their heirs who
made claims against the Albemarle estate.
348 THE MAD DUCHESS [book ix.
foul, persuaded young Christopher Monck, principal
heir under the will of 1687, to make over to him all
his rights to the Albemarle estates. In return he
was to receive one thousand pounds a year and the
Manor of Flourny.^ As this foolish young man had
taken to drink and had raised large sums of money
on his expectations, his bargain was not a bad one.
He had but a short time to enjoy any fortune, good
or bad, for he came to an untimely end, July 4, 1701.^
As the years went by, death wrought many changes.
Queen Mary had died in 1694, and now King William
too was gone. Anne reigned, and Lord Montagu was
made a Duke. His invisible wife was now not only
spoken of as the ' Mad Duchess,' but the ' Double
Duchess,' and the mystery about her deepened. Of
the Clarges family. Sir Thomas and Sir Walter were
gone, leaving a little child to carry on their claim.
The Earl of Bath, who was still the Earl, for King
William had not felt himself bound by the promises
of his uncle, King Charles, reluctantly drew his last
breath. Lord Lansdown, his son, hardly survived
him a week, dying from a pistol shot fired by his own
hand. The title and claims fell to a little child,
WilHam Henr>^^
The exiled King, James 11., keeping his pitiful state
at St. Germains, forgetful of past promises, had
granted to his son, Henry Fitz-James,^ the title of
* Chan. Proc, Hamilton, vol. 32, No. 44, Aug. 23, 1708. Henry
Monck, second son of Thomas Monck, to the Lord Chancellor.
- Chan. Proc, Hamilton, vol. 32, No. 44, July 1698.
3 Chan. Proc, Hamilton, vol. 36, No. i, January, 1703 ; Chan. Proc,
Collins, vol. 514, No. 118, July 27, 1708. William Henry died in 1711,
aged ten years, when the title became extinct. His estate, and perhaps
his claims to the Albemarle fortune, passed to his aunts — Jane, \viie
of Sir William Leveson-Gower ; Catherine, wife of Craven Peyton ;
Grace, wife of George Carteret.
* Henry Fitz-James, son of Arabella Churchill, and brother of the
Duke of Berwick; created Duke of Albemarle in 1697. See Ruvigny
and Raineval, Jacobite Peerages. Hist. MSS. Com., i^th Report, Bath
I7I0] THE DUKE OF MONTAGU 349
Duke of Albemarle. The death of this young man
without issue gave King James another unused
opportunity to keep his promise. One of the Gren-
ville family, George, had come under suspicion by
Queen Anne's government of holding communica-
tion with the exiles. He was imprisoned in the
Tower in 17 14, and on his release went abroad. In
1 72 1 the Old Pretender made tardy redemption of
the old promise. George Grenville was created Baron
Lansdown of Bideford; Viscount Bevil, Earl of Bath;
Marquis Monck and Duke of Albemarle.^
In March 1709-10 died Ralph, first Duke of
Montagu. The world could hardly forbear a smile
at this end to all his plans. Ann Hadley's letter to
her cousin Abigail Harley gives a hint of what was
said :
* Here is no lamentations for ye Duke of Montague,
but he by departing has given the inquisitive warld
ye long desired satisfaction of knowing his Mad
Dutchess to be alive ; they say she will be given to
the Duke of Newcastle,^ when a commission of
Lunacy is taken out, and whats more will come in for
her thirds of her or her pretended husbands Estate
for my part I'me apt to think could he have forseen,
or rather believed at what a distance this present
world and he would soon have been, he for the wealth
MSS., vol. iii. p. 234, July 15, 1698, Paris. Matthew Prior, writing to
the Earl of Portland, mentions at King James's Court at St. Ger-
mains, ' Mr. Henry Fitz- James, called the Duke of Albemarle.'
1 George Grenville, second surviving son of Bernard Grenville, who
was brother of John, Earl of Bath, was born in 1667 ; Queen Anne
created him Baron Lansdown of Bideford, one of twelve peers created
in five days to secure a majority in the House of Lords. He was a Privy
Councillor, Comptroller of the Household, and Treasurer of the House-
hold. He died in 1734-5. See Jacobite Peerages.
^ John Holies, third Duke of Newcastle. He had married Lady
Margaret Cavendish, principal heiress of her father, Henry, second
Duke of Newcastle, and had been granted the title of Duke of
Newcastle.
350 THE MAD DUCHESS [book ix.
and honner sake of his family would discreetly have
knock'^ her Ladyship in the head in good time.' ^
Whether or not the widow of the Duke of Montagu
received * her thirds,' many of her papers and those
of her first husband, the second Duke of Albemarle,
were retained by the Montagu family. They are now
in the possession of the Duke of Buccleuch, and are
preserved at Montagu House, Whitehall.
On the death of the Duke of Montagu, certain
members of the Cavendish family interested them-
selves on behalf of their unfortunate relative. There
was some rivalry as to who should be her guardian,
as a handsome income would be paid to whoever held
this office. Even Lord Glenorchy wrote from far
Edinburgh to solicit the position for himself.^ An
inquisition was taken at the Church of St. Clement
Danes, on March 31, 1709, when, after examining
witnesses, the Lunacy Commissioners found that
* the Duchess Dowager of Montagu is a lunatic and
not in her right understanding and does not enjoy
lucid intervals and is therefore not capable of the
Government of herself or her estate.'
John, Duke of Newcastle, Thomas, Earl of Thanet,
and Charles, Earl of Sunderland, were consequently
made her guardians.^
The poor lady was now established at old New-
castle House in Clerkenwell, where she had lived as
Duchess of Albemarle. Household stuff and furniture
were brought from Newhall ^ to give her comfort.
Henceforth Newhall was left deserted to fall into
1 Welbeck MSS., London, March i6, 17/^.
* Welbeck MSS., March 29, 1709. Lord Glenorchy was the widower
of Lady Frances Cavendish.
' Nicholas, Chronology of History, March 31, 1709 ; Luttrell, vol. vl.
p. 420.
* Welbeck MSS., Diary, 1709, March 27, William Guidote's opinion.
1729] THE HEIRS 351
decay. Lord Harley visited the house, Monday,
September 13, 1714, and found it ' Very much out of
repair.' ^ Benjamin Hoare, Esq., son of Sir Richard
Hoare, banker, and Lord Mayor of London in 17 13,
some years later bought of the heirs of the Duchess
the reversion of Newhall and other estates appertain-
ing thereto. With the marble and other materials
of this mansion he decorated a house which he built
in the neighbourhood.
As year followed year and the Duchess lived on, the
Cavendish relatives took counsel among themselves.
Under the prudent management of the trustees and
the resourceful Peniston Lamb, the estate of the
Duchess had grown and multiplied. All of her
sisters were dead, and among their children it was a
question whether the estate should be divided into
three portions or per capita. On the strength of the
united opinion of five gentlemen learned in the law,
it was decided that the division should be made per
capita. 2 These heirs, who awaited with more or less
eagerness the end of the old aunt whom most of them
had probably never seen, were —
1. Henrietta Cavendish Holies, Countess of
Oxford, only daughter of Margaret Cavendish,
Duchess of Newcastle.
2. Frances, Viscountess Morpeth, daughter of
Arabella Cavendish, Lady Spencer.
3. Anne, Countess of Sahsbury.
4. Margaret, Countess of Leicester and Baroness
Clifford.
5. Mary, Countess of Harold, afterwards Countess
Gower.
6. Isabella, married (i) Lord Nassau Paulet ; (2)
Sir Francis Blake Delavel, K.B.
1 Welbeck MSS. Notebook of Lord Harley, second Earl of Oxford.
* Welbeck MSS., 1729.
352 THE MAD DUCHESS [book ix.
These last four ladies were daughters of Katherine
Cavendish, Lady Thanet. By an agreement drawn
up between the Countess of Oxford and her husband
with Mr. Lamb, the agent for the Duchess, it would
appear that each of these heirs would receive more
than ;^20,ooo.^ Thus the personal estate of the
Duchess would represent more than ;^i20,ooo. What
part of the great Albemarle estates remained out-
side the lands settled on the Duchess for her life
does not appear. Great inroads had been made by
twenty years of litigation, lawyers' fees, and partial
settlements. 2 Some legacies awaited the death of
the Duchess to be paid to beneficiaries under the
last will. Chief among those who thus awaited pay-
ment was a younger Bernard Grenville, nephew of
that George Grenville who had been called Duke of
Albemarle. This poor, shadowy Duke had died
leaving his empty titles, of no use in England, to
this nephew, Bernard. This younger Bernard Gren-
ville, who was born in 1700, had served in the
English army in the foreign wars. On the death
of his uncle, the young man resigned his commis-
sion and betook himself to London, to await, with
the Cavendish heirs, an event that all felt could not
now be far off.^ But it was not until August 28, 1734,
that Lord Oxford recorded in his notebook : *
' A quarter before twelve aclock died Elizabeth
D^^ of Albemarle at Newcastle House, Clerkenwell
in the 80th year of her age.'
1 Welbeck MSS., July i, 1735.
* Chan. Proc, Whittington, vol. 242, No. 16. Bath v. Gibbs, May
16Q5. The personal property of the Duke of Albemarle amounted to
3^40,000 beyond his debts. The executors had neither paid the debts
nor discharged the legacies.
* In 1738 Bernard Grenville purchased with his share of the Albe-
marle estates Colwich Abbey, county Stafford.
* Welbeck MSS.
1734] WESTMINSTER ABBEY 353
Once dead, the pitiful body of the Duchess received
anew all the dignities belonging to her rank. She
was carried to the Abbey Church of Westminster,
where she lay in state in the Jerusalem Chamber.
On Wednesday, September 11, at night, she was
buried in a private manner in the Monck vault beside
the husband of her youth, whom she had outlived by
nearly fifty years.
For two hundred years and more the Duke and
Duchess of Albemarle have slept in Westminster
Abbey. They lie at the feet of Queen Elizabeth in a
vault designed for the first Stuart king ; around them
rise the glories of the Chapel of Henry vii.^ In the
south aisle of the chapel, erected over the resting-
place of the Duke's 'dear master King Charles 11.,'
is the Monck monument. The stone is unmarked
by the name or deeds of those it serves to com-
memorate, but the family arms are carved high upon
the shaft. It was erected in 1720 in compliance with
the will of Christopher Monck to the memory of his
father. Carved in white marble, the great Lord-
General stands, costumed in armour and cloak,
bearing in his hand a baton. Facing him a sorrow-
ing female figure supports a medallion portrait of
Christopher, the last Duke of Albemarle.
1 In the Monck vault, in addition to the family and certain of the
GrenviUes, are buried George Savile, Marquis of Halifax, with his wife
and daughter ; George Fitzroy, Duke of Northumberland, and his two
wives ; and the essayist and poet, Joseph Addison. There are also
several urns, one believed to be that of Anne of Denmark.
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355
APPENDIX
EXISTING PORTRAITS
PORTRAITS OF CHRISTOPHER, SECOND
DUKE OF ALBEMARLE
FULL-LENGTH PORTRAIT, IN GARTER ROBES, by
Thomas Murrey, at Welbeck Abbey, in the possession of the
Duke of Portland, K.G.
FULL-LENGTH PORTRAIT, by John Riley, at Welbeck Abbey,
in the possession of the Duke of Portland, K.G.
FULL-LENGTH PORTRAIT, IN GARTER ROBES, by Thomas
Murrey (?), in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge.
PORTRAIT, in the possession of the Misses Hayes, artist unknown,
exhibited at South Kensington, 1868.
MINIATURE, by N. DixON, at Ickworth, in the possession of the
Marquis of Bristol.
MINIATURE, painted in 1680, by L. Crosse, belonging (1914) to
Mr. E. M. Hodgkins.
ENAMEL, at Welbeck Abbey, in the possession of the Duke of
Portland, K.G.
MEZZOTINT PORTRAIT, engraved by Becket.
PORTRAITS OF ELIZABETH CAVENDISH,
DUCHESS OF ALBEMARLE
THREE-QUARTER-LENGTH, SEATED, by Sir Peter Lely, at
Welbeck Abbey, in the possession of the Duke of Portland, K.G.
REPETITION OF THE SAME, in the collection at Langton,
Duns.
WHOLE-LENGTH, SEATED, by Thomas Murrey, at Welbeck
Abbey, in the possession of the Duke of Portland, K.G.
FULL-LENGTH, AS CLEOPATRA, at Castle Howard.
THREE-QUARTER-LENGTH, SEATED, at Longleat, in the
collection of the Marquis of Bath.
MEZZOTINT HALF-LENGTH PORTRAIT, engraved by
William Sherwin.
MINIATURE, by L. Crosse, at Welbeck Abbey, in the possession
of the Duke of Portland, K.G.
356
INDEX
Abdael, Albemarle addressed as, 139.
' Absalom and Achitophel ' continued
by Tate, 135.
Acland, Sir H., mentioned, 123.
Africa, gold, 286.
African House, meetings held in, a86.
Ailesbury, Earl of (Robert Bruce),
signs petition, 163; present, 172.
Albemarle, the Duke of (a public
house), mentioned, 155, 315.
Duchess of (Anne Clarges),
early life, 6, 7 ; marriage to Monck,
7-8; birth of Christopher, 9-10;
Dalkeith House, n; opinions.. 14;
her Treason Gown, 15 ; White-
hall Palace, 16; St. James's Palace,
17 ; neglected by Parliament ladies,
19; becomes Duchess, 20; son's
accomplishments and dress, 22-3 ;
estimate of, 26 ; son's wedding-day,
29 ; death of husband, 30 ; her
jewels, 31; her death, 32; her
burial, 35 ; her picture, once at
Chatsworth, 68 ; warning against
Clarges, 76; her marriage ques-
tioned, 346.
second Duke of (Christopher
Monck), ancestry, 3, 4; father of,
3-8 ; birth of, 9 ; his nurse, 10 ; at
Dalkeith House, 11; his playmate,
12 ; his opinions, 14 ; lives in White-
hall Palace, 16 ; Uves in St. James's
Palace, 17 ; loiown as Lord Torring-
ton, 20. Expense account — his
tutor, 21 ; as a letter writer, 22 ;
mathematics : his teacher, 22 ; danc-
ing master, 22; foot-boy, 22. 1666
— made a captain, 23. 1667 — in
Parliament, 23 ; shadow on birth,
24. 1669 — visit of Grand Duke of
Tuscany, 25 ; estimate of Christo-
pher, 26; wife sought for, 27;
wife's dowry, 28 ; marriage, 29.
1670 — inherits father's titles and
offices, 30 ; desires his mother's
jewels, 31; given the Garter, 32;
supplies from great wardrobe, 33 ;
chief mourner, 36 ; good wishes for,
37; installation at Windsor, 42, 43,
44, 45 ; his estates, 46, 47 ; youth
and inexperience, 47; evil com-
panions, 48 ; murder of beadle, 49 ;
his pardon, 50 ; letter to Lord
Montagu, 51; his coaches, 53;
Gentleman of the Bedchamber, 54.
1673 — his regiment, 55; regiment
mutinies, 56; accompanies Rupert,
57; battle of Texel, 58; receives
lands in Ireland, 60; intrigues in
household of, 63 ; his son, 64 ; lack
of an heir, 65 ; befriends Colonel
Thos. Monck, 66 ; care of orphans,
68; family connection, 69. 1674 —
political affiliations, 70 ; gaieties at
Court, 71 ; character of his letters,
74 ; letter from Reresby, 75 ; his
guardians, 76; forsakes Clarges,
"jy ; letter from Clarges, 78 ; his
coming of age, 80 ; buys Clarendon
House, employs Verrio, 84; ser-
vants of, 85 ; neglects his duties
at Court, 86 ; contrite letters to
Bath, 87. 1675 — desire for a son,
88 ; appearance and characteristics,
91; his loyalty, 92; goes to New-
market, 93 ; King's visit to, 94, 98 ;
letter from Newcastle, 98 ; visits
Devonshire, 99; entertained at
Plymouth, 100; visit to Holland,
102 ; welcomes Prince of Orange,
103 ; presents to Prince from, 104 ;
returns to Holland, 105 ; the Popish
Plot, 106; writes to Newcastle,
107; the election in Essex, 108;
displeased with result, 109 ; a privy
councillor, no; defends Danby,
2 A
358
INDEX
hi; becomes colonel of the Guards,
113; attends the King, 114; search
for Papists, 114. 1680 — greyhound
coursing, 115 ; amusements of,
116; votes Stafford guilty, 118;
reforms the Guards, 119 ; his coach
searched for Papists, 120 ; attends
the King to Oxford, 121 ; his
political position, 122 ; joint
Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire, 123 ;
quarrel with Legge, 124 ; the
deed of Release, 124-5 ; en-
tertains gentlemen of the MiddL-
Temple, 125 ; entertains the Prince
of Orange, 125 ; wrestling-match
at Windsor, 126-7 ; entertains
the Prince at Newhall, 128 ; in-
terest in Lady Ogle, 129 ; scandal
concerning, 130 ; rewards, 132 ;
Revels of the Temple, 133 ; chal-
lenges Monmouth, 134 ; goes to
a bear-baiting, 135 ; goes to New-
market, 136 ; Chancellor of Cam-
bridge University, 137 ; corre-
spondence with University, 138 ;
poems in honour of, 139 ; pre-
parations for installation, 140 ;
installation and speech, 141 ; made
Doctor of Laws, 142 ; plot to
disgrace him, 143. 1682 — duel
with Grey, 144 ; tells the King his
story, 145 ; letter from Morocco
Ambassador, 146 ; Steward of
Young Men and Apprentices, 147;
considered for ambassadorship to
Fez, 148 ; asks for command in
Netherlands, 148 ; presents saddle-
horse to Prince of Orange, 148;
letter concerning command, 149 ;
command refused, 150 ; letter
from Bentinck, 151 ; horses from
the Prince, 151 ; apex of career,
152. 1683 — offices held by, 152 ;
financial embarrassment— sells Al-
bemarleHouse, 155; sits'forportrait,
156 ; delusions of the Duchess,
157 ; letter from the Duchess,
157-8 ; letter from Mary Fair-
well, 158-9 ; affection for his
wife, 161 ; signs petition, 162 ;
conduct at lire, 164 ; letter from
Petre, 164 ; alters will, 163 ; Rye
House Plot, 165 ; arrests con-
spirators, 166 ; present at Russell's
execution, 167 ; tries to shoot
Russell, 1 58 ; seeks another house,
169 ; letters from Barwick to,
170, 171 ; entertained by Lion-
berg, 172 ; a guarantor for Danby,
172 ; letter from Barwick, 173,
174, 175 ; contretemps at White-
hall, 174 ; letter from the Duchess,
175 ; letter from Newcastle, 175 ;
at Newcastle House, 176; out
of favour, 177. 1685 — death of
King, 179 ; at King's funeral, 180 ;
correspondence with Blythe, 181 ;
dispute with University, 182 ;
sends Bramston to King, 183 ;
caresses voters, 184 ; election at
Chelmsford, 185-6; absent from
Mass, 187 ; disputes over the
member from Clitheroe, 188 ; place
in coronation procession, 189 ;
letter from Barwick, 190 ; re-
commends Glenorchy, 191 ;
attends Privy Council, 192 ; peti-
tion of Finet, 193 ; no longer
Gentleman of Bedchamber, 194 ;
raises Devon militia against Mon-
mouth, 195 ; awaits reinforce-
ments, 197 ; King's orders to, 198 ;
forbidden to attack, 199 ; his
militia defeated at Axminster,
200 ; uses influence to encourage
militia, 201 ; holds mUitia at
Wellington, 202 ; invited to join
Monmouth, 203 and note ; Albe-
marle's reply, 204 ; complimented
by King, 205 ; Berwick joins
Albemarle, 206 ; letter from
Sydenham, 206; letter from Duchess
concerning Feversham, 207 ;
joined by Churchill, 208 ; secures
Lyme, 209 ; letter from Duchess,
210 ; letter from Grosvenor, 211 ;
superseded by Feversham, 212 ;
letter from Duchess, 213 ; absent
from Monmouth's execution, 214 ;
returns to Newcastle House, 215 ;
discusses militia, 216 ; King's
anger with, 217; resigns appoint-
ments, 218 ; writes to Sancroft
concerning University, 219 ; public
opinion of, 219 ; Bramston's com-
ments on, 220 ; retires to Newhall,
223 ; health impaired, 224 ; his
colours, 225 ; his overtures to the
King, 225 ; returns to London,
226 ; attack upon, 226 ; urged
INDEX
359
to alter will, 227 ; letters from
Duchess, 228; letter from Barwick,
229 ; summons Bath, 230 ; ad-
vised by Bath, 231 ; postpones
signing new will, 232 ; con-
trasted with Buckingham, 233 ;
accepts governorship of Jamaica,
234. 1686 — huntmg-party at New-
hall, 235 ; favours from King, 237 ;
sups at Copt Hall, 238-239 ;
announcement of governorship,
240 ; reasons for interest in the
West Indies, 243 ; learns of
treasure ship, 244 ; organises The
Gentlemen Adventurers, 245 ; his
patent for treasure ship, 246 ;
shares of, 247 ; treasure received
by, 251 ; medal showing, 252.
1687 — receives new patent for
treasmre-hunting, 253 ; conditions
of his patent, 254 ; at council, 255 ;
as a treasure-seeker, 256 ; com-
mission as governor, 261 ; powers
granted to, 262 ; intercedes in
behalf of University, 263 ; letter
from Peachell, 264 ; pleads with
King, 265 ; patent for mines, 266 ;
patent to confer knighthood, 267 ;
commander-in-chief, 267 ; instruc-
tions to, 267-8 ; his chaplains,
269 ; patent for sawmills, 269-
70; domestic troubles, 270;
sells land to Jeffreys, 271 ; signs
second wOl, 272 ; preparations for
departure, 273 ; his papers, 274 ;
personal appearance, 275 ; por-
trait by Riley, 275 ; interview
with Bath and Grenville, 276 ;
sails, 277 ; saluted as admiral,
278 ; reviews troops, 279 ; popu-
larity of, 279 ; received at Port
Royal, 279 ; entertainment in
honour of, 280 ; instructions re-
garding Morgan, 283 ; aware of
Jamaican problems, 289 ; petitions
to, from Jamaica, 290 ; letter to
Lordsof Committee, 291 ; approves
Morgan, 291 ; affairs of treasure
ship, 293. i688^motives, 294 ;
absolved from responsibility, 294 ;
feud with Molesworth, 295 ; de-
mands accounts of R. A. Co.,
295 ; speech to Assembly, 296;
desires to defend treasure, 297 ;
independent action, 298 ; insists
that bills be passed by Assembly,
299; letter to Committee, 299; dis-
agrees with Assembly, 300 ; letter
to Committee, 300-301 ; dissolves
Assembly, 301 ; letter to Com-
mittee, 302 ; conflict with Lynch,
302 ; letter to Committee, 303 ;
problem concerning buccaneers, 303;
letter to Committee, 304 ; his
intentions, lack of society, 305 ;
letter from Lord Petre, 308 ;
speech to Assembly, 3 10- 11 ;
letter to Committee, 311 ; Acts
passed under governorship, 312 ;
employed to fight Biscayans, 313 ;
quarrel with Lynch, 314 ; priva-
teers surrender to, 314 ; name
preserved, 315 ; maps and books
belonging to, 315 ; sea-rovers
and, 315 ; his health, 316 ;
visits Old Harbour, 317; illness
of, 317 ; hears of birth of Prince,
317 ; visits Legaunee, 318 ; re-
turns to Spanish Town, 318 ; his
last illness, 319-20 ; last letter to
Craven, 320 ; his death, 321 ;
work unfinished, 322 ; memory
neglected by friends, 322 ; his
Acts cancelled, 323 ; treasure of,
325 ; yacht, 325 ; letters received
after death, 326 ; business con-
ducted by Barwick, 328. 1689 —
body on yacht, 330 ; money due to,
331 note ; burial of, 334; estimate
of, 335 ; disputes over estate, 340 ;
intentions concerning wills, 341 ;
petition to King, 342 ; association
with Montagu, 344 ; Jacobite crea-
tions, 349; monument, 353.
Albemarle, Duchess of (Elizabeth
Cavendish), sought in marriage, 27 ;
her early life and character, 28 ;
her marriage, 29 ; mother-in-law's
jewels, 31 ; her mourning gown,
35 ; visits Berkeley Castle, 59,
60 ; her jealousy, 63 ; her favour-
ites, 65 ; god-mother, 70 ; gaieties
at Court, 71 ; gives a masque, 72 ;
criticised by her mother, 73 ;
letter to mother, 74 ; her servants,
85 ; her journey to Welbeck, 87 ;
hopes for a son, 88 ; ring of the
Prince, 104-5 ; settlements en-
larged, 125 ; her brother, 128 ;
visits Welbeck, 132 ; the Chancel-
36o
INDEX
loress, 139 ; portrait painted by
Murrey, 156 ; her allowance, 156 ;
delusions of, 157 ; letter to Duke,
.157-8 ; goes to Welbeck, 160 ;
her unfortunate behaviour, 161 ;
mental state, 164 ; at the Cock
Pit, 169 ; her condition described,
170; Duchess of Newcastle's
opinion of, 171 ; duty to her
parents, 171 ; at York Buildings,
172 ; indecision of, 173 ; her
saddle-horses, 173 ; difficulties at
Whitehall, 174 ; her reputation
suffers, 175 ; letter to Albemarle,
175 ; at Newcastle House, 176 ;
vagaries, 177 ; attends the corona-
tion, 189 ; her family affairs, 190 ;
conducts sister to Court, 192 ;
alarm for her husband, 196 ; letter
to Albemarle concerning Catholics,
205 ; letter to Albemarle concern-
ing Feversham, 208 ; letters to
Albemarle, 210, 213-14; improved
domestic relations, 215 ; visits Wel-
beck, 223 ; urges husband to alter
will, 227; appearance of, 227; letters
to Albemarle, 228 ; family interests
of, 229 ; proposes Berwick, 230 ;
employs Dr. Renwick, 230 ; criti-
cised by PoUexfen, 231 ; spies upon
the Duke, 232 ; to go to Jamaica,
234 ; her niece, 251 ; importunes
the Duke, 270; her agents, 271 ;
letter to Margaret Cavendish,
277 ; sails, 277 ; popularity of,
279 ; compliments to, 280 ; sends
presents to England, 305 ; letter
from M. Crag(?), 306; letter from
B. Strickland, 307 ; after death of
Duke, 325 ; her health, 326 ;
letter from Barwick, 328 ; plans
for her return, 330 ; boards
Assistance, 330 ; dislike for Lynch,
330 ; fears of, 331 ; admires
Orange, 332 ; changes ships, 333 ;
lands at Plymouth, 334 ; visits
Welbeck Abbey, 339 ; at Newhall,
her health, 339 ; goes to Court,
340 ; her income, 341 ; her
mental state, 342 ; determines to
marry, 343 ; her wealth, 344 ;
marries Montagu, 344; rumours con-
cerning, 347; the Mad Duchess, 348;
comments on, 349 ; pronounced a
lunatic, 350; death of, 352.
Albemarle, first Duke of (George
Monck), youthful exploit of, 3, 5;
capture at Nantwich, 6 ; marries
Anne Clarges, 7-8 ; birth of son
Christopher, 9 ; established in Scot-
land, 10; death of son George, 11 ;
parsimony of, 12 ; wish of his
army, 13 ; Coldstream, 15 ; in
London, 16 ; Hampton Court
offered to, 17; acquires Newhall,
18; return of king, 19; created
Duke of Albemarle, 20 ; Dutch wars
— Great Fire, Plague, 2 1 ; directs
Christopher's studies, 22 ; son's
allowance, 23 ; quarrel with
Clarges and others, 24 ; drives
Dutch from Thames, 25 ; visitors
at Newhall, 25, 26 ; plans for
marriage of son, 27 ; his last
desire, 28 ; death of, 30 ; char-
acteristics, 30 ; lies in state at
Somerset House, 32 ; state funeral,
35; funeral sermon, 36; his view
of Pride, 50; view changes, 51;
his Irish lands, 60 ; befriends Col.
Thos. Monck, 66 ; picture once at
Chatsworth, 68 ; Shaftesbury his
friend, 70 ; acquires Newhall from
Buckingham, 97; the King's funeral
contrasted with that of, 180 ;
Breadalbane a friend of, 191 ;
example of, 195 ; Stringer em-
ployed by, 227 ; interests in West
Indies, 243 ; his soldiers in Jamaica,
281 ; receives booty of buccaneers,
282 ; his marriage questioned, 346;
mentioned, 139, 209.
House (Clarendon House), 59
its sins, 63 ; a masque at, 72
Clarges deplores purchase of, 78
purchase of, 80 and note ; gateway
81 note ; description of, 82
paintings by Verrio for, 84
servants employed at, 85 ; ir
staUation at, 140-1 ; gunsmith at
143 ; sold, 155 ; money received
from sale of, 156; mentioned,
160.
Island, 315.
motto, 123.
Street, 155; Piccadilly, 315;
Clcrkenwell, 315.
Alford, Gregory, Mayor of Lyme,
197; misinformation from, 197.
Algier Rose, lent to Phips, 244.
INDEX
361
Alice, servant at Newcastle House,
176.
All Souls College, Oxford, MSS. of,
256 note.
Andros, Sir Edmund, governor of
New England, 289 ; difiSculties of,
301 note.
Angelsey, Earl of (Arthur Annesley),
shares in R. A. Co., 285.
Anne, Queen, acts in masque, 71 ;
her husband, 235 ; becomes Queen,
348 ; mentioned, 340, 349.
Archer, Mrs., gossip of, 63 ; opinion
of Duchess, 160.
Argyll, Earl of (Archibald Campbell),
expedition against James 11.,
195.
Arlington House, entertainments at,
125, 127.
Arlington, Earl of (Henry Bennet),
at Monck's funeral, 36 ; King's
visit to, 52 ; regiment of, 55 ;
visits fleet, 57 ; entertains Court
at Goring House, 59 ; King visits,
at Euston, 94 ; entertains the
Prince of Orange, 125 ; letter from
Conway, 149 ; shares in R. A. Co.,
285; mentioned, loi.
Armstrong, Sir Thomas, hot words
of. Ill ; in a coffee house, 144 ;
in the Ryehouse Plot, 166.
Army of General Monck, desire to
make Monck ruler, 13.
Armyne, Lady, letter of, 88.
Arran, Earl of (Richard Butler), at
entertainment, 172 ; visits Win-
chester, 224.
Arthur, Prince of Wales (son of
Henry vii.), portrait of, 96.
Arundell, R. (Baron Arundell of
Trerice), signs petition, 163.
Arwaker, Mr., Albemarle's chaplain,
269.
Ashmole, Elias (Windsor Herald),
description by, 42 ; his learning,
44.
Ashton, Colonel E., elected from
Clitheroe, 188.
Assiento explained, 289.
Assistance, supernumeraries on the,
269 ; preparations on the, 273 ;
orders concerning, 276 ; en-
counters storms, 277 ; mentioned,
291 ; goes to wreck, 297 ; sails
against pirates, 300 ; prepared for
j voyage, 330 ; log-book of, 331 ;
abandons Duchess, 333 ; at Ply-
mouth, 334.
I Audley End, King entertained at,
1 116.
i Auwerkerck, Mr. d', mentioned, 151.
; Axminster, fight at, 200.
B
Badminton, Southwell visits, 219.
I Bahama, mentioned, 255.
Ballard, Colonel, offers to serve as
judge, 299.
Bamphfield, Sir Copplestone, men-
tioned, 123.
Bancks, Mr., mentioned, 215.
Barbadoes, Sloane at, 247 ; Albe-
marle received at, 279 ; constitu-
tion of, 284 ; governor of, 289 ;
mentioned, 290.
Barber, a papist, 169.
Barnard, Chief Justice (Jamaica), dis-
missed, 298.
Barn-Elms, supper at, 58.
Barry, Colonel, difficulties of, 300.
Barwick, Dr. Peter, comments on
Duchess, 161 ; attends the Duchess,
169 ; letter to Albemarle, 170 ;
letter from Duchess of Newcastle
to, 171 ; letter to Albemarle, 171 ;
his methods, 172; letters to Albe-
marle from, 173, 174, 190, 229;
advises Albemarle, 230, 256 note ;
consultation with, 272 ; quoted
275 ; letter of, to Duchess, 328 ;
advice of, 339 ; mentioned,
344-
Basset, game of, popularity of,
192.
Bath, Earl of (John Grenville), plots
of,^rj; aids King, 18; Groom
of the Stole, 20 ; promised K.G.,
30 ; at Monck's funeral, 36 ; in-
fluence upon Albemarle, 63 ; Bath
versus Montagu, 64 ; knowledge
of Col. Thos. Monck, 65 ; son
marries, 70 ; Albemarle's guardian,
76 ; King's promise to, 79 ; kind-
ness to Albemarle, 80 ; reproves
Albemarle, 86 ; letter from Albe-
marle, 87 ; welcomes Albemarle
at Plymouth, 99 ; Deed of Re-
lease in favour of, 124 ; tells his
family, 125 ; buys lace, 157 ;
362
INDEX
signs petition, 163 ; at entertain-
ment, 172 ; Bramston sent to,
183 ; called ' Prince Elector,' 188 ;
no longer Groom of Stole, 194 ;
his influence with Albemarle, 212 ;
testimony of, 224 ; Lord- Lieuten-
ant of Devon, 225 ; Duchess
opposes, 227 ; summoned by Albe-
marle, 230 ; assists Albemarle,
231 ; at Council, 255 ; accuses the
Duchess, 270 ; comments on the
Duke, 271 ; conversation with
Clayton, 271 ; trustee for Albe-
marle, 274 ; Albemarle visits,
275 ; out of favour, 322 ; has
possession of Albemarle's will, 340;
to inherit Albemarle estates, 341 ;
to be Duke of Albemarle, 342 ;
judgments for, 342 ; lawsuit with
Montagu, 346 ; injunctions and
agreements, 347 ; buys rights of
heir, 348 ; death of, 348 ; men-
tioned, 276, 323.
Bath, Earl of (William Henry), men-
tioned, 348 and note.
Lady (Jane, w. of John E. of
Bath), her strong box, 340.
Road, Albemarle House on, 81.
and Wells, Bishop of, visits
Winchester, 224.
Beadle, verses on killing of, 49.
Bear-baiting, Albemarle enjoys, 92 ;
Albemarle visits a, 135.
Beaufort, Duke of (Henry Somerset),
stand against Monmouth, 208 ;
writes of treasure, 251.
Beau Lieu, name of Newhall, 95.
Beckman, Major, an engineer, ig6.
Beeston, Mr., a Jamaican planter, 290.
Belasyse, John, Baron, regiment of,
55 ; at council, 255.
Bendlos, Mr., mentioned, 327.
Bcnnet, William (Bishop of Cloyne),
his register, 182.
Benoist, Mark Antony, tutor to Lord
Ogle, 75-
Bentinck, William dc (Earl of Port-
land), letter from, 66, 67 ; visits
England, 102 ; letter to Albemarle,
151-
Berkeley, Earl of (George Berkeley),
wedding anniversary, 60 ; signs
petition, 163.
Berkeley Castle, Duchess of Albemarle
visits, 60.
Berkshire, estates in, 341.
Bermuda, mentioned, 254 ; governor
of, 318 ; entertainment given in,
318-19.
Bertley, Lady Arrathusay, married,
306.
Berwick, Duke of (James Fitz- James),
serves under Albemarle, 206 ; mar-
riage discussed, 230.
Best, Mr., mentioned, 23.
Bicknacre, mentioned, 236.
Bills (Jamaica) passed by Albemarle's
Assembly, 311.
Biscayans (see also Pirates), attack
merchantmen, 313.
Blackheath, regiments gather on, 55.
Blagg, Mrs., acts in masque, 71.
Blathwayt, William, letter to South-
well, 219 ; wonders at Albemarle,
234 ; letter to Southwell, 301 note ;
mentioned, 327.
Bloomsbury, house in, 344.
Blythe, Dr. (Vice-Chancellor of Cam-
bridge University), letter to Albe-
marle, 181 ; controversy with
Albemarle, 182 ; Albemarle writes
to, 215.
Bodnorths' farm, 46.
Bolsover Castle, mentioned, 29.
Bombay, Queen's dower, 82.
Bond Street, mentioned, 82.
Bonito, sent to treasure ship, 245.
Boreham Church, mentioned, 80.
Boreham HaU, Old, mentioned, 46.
Boston (Mass.), massacre, 64 ; yacht
goes to, 325.
Boule (?), Mr., married, 306.
Bourdon, Colonel, resigns, 298 ;
writes to Committee, 299.
Bowen, George, designs medals, 252.
Bowers, Mr., trustee for Albemarle,
274.
Bowlands, bow-bearer of, 69.
Bowles, Mr., mentioned, 224.
Boxing match, for Albemarle, 132 ;
for the King, 147.
Boy Huzzar (?), sails, 256 and note ;
at Barbadoes, 279.
Braddock, Mr., representative of
University, 263 and note.
Bramston, Sir John, conversation
with Albemarle, 182 and note ;
sent to King, 1183 ; elected at
Maiden, 184; describes Chelms-
ford election, 185-6 ; Albemarle's
INDEX
363
orders, 197 note ; visits Albemaile,
215 ; conversation with Albemarle
regarding militia, 216 ; accom-
panies Albemarle_to Whitehall, 217;
opinion of Albemarle's conduct,
220 ; description of stag-hunt by,
236, 237 ; description of collation
at Copt Hall, 238 ; describes
Phips, 246.
Breadalbane, Earl of (John Campbell),
known to Albemarle, igi.
Brent, Mr., mentioned, 327.
Brentwood, mentioned, 236.
Bridgewater, Monmouth enters,
200.
second Earl of (John Egerton),
at Monck's funeral, 36.
third Earl of (John Egerton),
trustee for Albemarle, 274.
British Museum, print in, 82 ; MSS.
in, 205 note ; Phips' journal in,
247 ; Sloane's collections in, 272 ;
maps in, 315.
Broomfield, mentioned, 237.
Broughton, mentioned, 47 ; Jeffreys
to buy, 251 ; mentioiacd, 270 ;
sold, 271.
Brown Bett}', racehorse, 223.
Mr., servant at Newcastle House,
171.
Mary, a witness, 105.
Dr., consultation with, 272.
Philip, chaplain to Albemarle,
85.
Sir Thomas, letter of, 109.
Bruorton, Mrs., mentioned, 159.
Brussels, governor of, 103 ; Duke of
York at, no.
Bryne, Lieut. Terence, court-martial
of, 66.
Buccaneers, Jamaica settlers become,
281 ; their commissions, 283 ;
enrich cathedral, 292.
Buccleuch, Countess of (Margaret),
friend of Monck, 27.
Buckingham, first Duke of (George
Villiers), visits Devon, 3 ; owns
Newhall, 96.
second Duke of (George Vil-
liers), at Windsor, 43 ; income of,
46 ; characteristics, 47 ; his jeal-
ousy, 56 ; regains Newhall, 97 ;
in the Tower, loi ; takes no re-
venge, 102 ; installation speech,
138 ; example of, 155 ; farce by,
213 note ; death, 233 ; shares in
R. A. Co., 285.
BuUen, Sir Thomas, owner of Newhall,
95.
Bullhead Inn, Monck lives in, 16.
Biurford, King visits, 121.
Burnet, Bishop, quoted, 122, 150.
Burtenhead (?), Mr., mentioned, 228.
Busby's School, Dr., Ambassador
visits, 135.
Butler, Mrs., an actress, 71.
Buyse (a Brandenburger), lauds with
Monmouth, 197.
Cabal, strength broken, 70.
Cadmore, Mr., petition of, 216, 217.
Cambridge, University of, confers
degree on Ambassador, 136 ; Chan-
cellorship of, taken from Mon-
mouth, given to Albemarle, 137 ;
letters concerning installation, 13S ;
poems concerning installation, 139 ;
procession to Albemarle House,
140 ; installation ceremony, 141 ;
degree conferred upon Albemarle,
142 ; chancellor, 152 ; installation
mentioned, 155 ; address to the
King, 181 ; dispute with Albemarle,
182 ; letter from Albemarle to,
218 ; archbishop's care for, 219 ;
loyalty of, 262 ; controversy with
King, 263 ; emissaries from, 264.
University Senate, waits on
King, 181 ; demands Albemarle's
presence, 187.
Vice-Chancellors of. See
Coga, Blythe, Peachell.
see Clare Hall.
see Emanuel College.
see Registry.
see Trinity College.
Campden, Viscount (Baptist Noel),
signs petition, 163.
Canterbury, Charles 11. arrives in,
18.
Archbishop of (Gilbert Sheldon),
the plague, 21 ; prepares Monck
I for death, 25.
! (William Sancroft), Albe-
i marie writes to, 169 ; Albemarle's
letter to, 219.
Carew, Sir Thomas, mentioned, r23.
Carlisle, first Earl of (Charles Howard),
3^4
INDEX
/
at Monck's funeral, 36 ; his regi-
ment, 55 ; governor of Jamaica,
283 ; mentioned, 290.
Carolina, Lord High Constable of,
116; mines in, 266; Albemarle's
lands in, 290.
Carribbean Sea, Islands of, 243 ;
news of treasure in, 254 ; naval
force in, 282 ; mentioned, 284.
Carteret, George, shares in R. A. Co.,
285.
Grace (wife of G. Carteret),
mentioned, 348 note.
Carthagena, Lynch goes to, 303.
Carwell, Madam. See Portsmouth,
Duchess of.
Castlehaven, Earl of (James Touchet),
present at entertainment, 172.
Catherine of Braganza (wife of
Charles 11.), her birthday, 104 ;
visits Oxford, 121 ; views wrestling
match, 126 ; her chamberlain,
131 ; receives as Queen Dowager,
181 ; King with, 265 ; shares in
R. A. Co., 285 ; return to Portugal,
306 ; alters her mind, 308 ; receives
the Duchess of Albemarle, 340 ;
mentioned, 307.
Cavendish, Lady Arabella (Lady
Spencer), visits her sister, 63 ;
mentioned, 277.
Lady Elizabeth (and sec Albe-
marle, Duchess of), description of,
27, 28.
family, mentioned, 28 ; prin-
cipals of, 70, 72 ; mentioned, 129 ;
possession of nunnery, 215 ; care
for Duchess, 350.
Lady Frances (Lady Glenorchy),
marriage of, 191.
Henry. See Newcastle, second
Duke of.
Lady Katherine (Lady Thanct),
visits sister, 63, 73 ; journey to
Newhall, 158 note ; her marriage,
191 ; visits London, 192 ; portrait,
192 and note; mentioned, 176,
306, 307.
Lady Margaret (Lady Clare
and Duchess of Newcastle), journey
to Newhall, 158 note; her suitors,
229; rejects Berwick, 230; marriage
of, 230 note, 339 ; letter from
Duchess of Albemarle, 277 ; men-
tioned, 176.
Cavendish, Lord (William, first Duke
of Devonshire), gambling of, 131 ;
plans to save Russell, 167 ; present
at execution, 168.
(William, second Duke of
Devonshire), marries, 307.
William. See Newcastle, Duke
of.
Chancery, Court of, case sent, 256 ;
suit in, 271.
Lane, mentioned, 117.
Chapman, William, employed by
Albemarle, 85 ; receives ring from
Prince, 104 ; letter to Albemarle,
169 ; attends Bramston, 183 ;
messages to Barwick from, 190 ;
mentioned, 193, 332.
Chard, militia marches from, 200.
Charleroi, battle of, 58.
Charles I., visits Devon, 3 ; impressed
by Monck, 6 ; sacrifices for, 27 ;
his daughter, 112 ; in memory of,
332.
Charles 11., plots for restoration of,
13 ; restoration, 18 ; sorrow at
death of Monck, 30 ; presides at
Chapter of Knights of Garter, 32 ;
affection for Albemarle, 33 ; new
influence upon, 41 ; at Windsor,
42 ; wears hood on wrong shoulder,
44 ; character of Court, 47 ;
pleasures of, 48 ; his racehorse,
52 ; visits Arlington, 53 ; visits
fleet, 57; at Barn-Elms, 58;
bestows favours, 59 ; rewards
Albemarle, 60 ; Sherwin pre-
sented to, 69 ; friendship for
Bath, 69 ; promise to Bath, 79,
348 ; at Whitehall, 83 ; Albe-
marle's favour with, 92 ; neglects
public business, 93 ; at New-
market, 94 ; visits Euston, 94 ;
visits Newhall, 98 ; conversation
with Wharton, loi ; Albemarle
brings news to, 103 ; Popish plot
to kill, 106 ; signs secret order,
107 ; tries to save Danby, 108 ;
forms New Privy Council, 109,
no; letter from Danby, in;
without an heir, 112 ; serious
illness of, 112 ; his travels, 114 ;
listens to discussion on Exclusion
Bill, 117 ; diversions at Oxford,
121 ; dissolves Parliament, 122 ;
forbids duel, 124 ; Albemarle en-
INDEX
365
tertains at command of, 125 ;
wrestling match at Windsor, 126-7 ;
entertained by Albemarle at New-
market, 128 ; gaming of, 131 ;
receives Morocco Ambassador, 135 ;
makes Albemarle Chancellor, 136 ;
letter to Cambridge University
from, 137 ; frowns on duelling,
143 ; reconciles Albemarle and
Grey, 144 ; discourses with Albe-
marle, 145 ; at Windsor and
Winchester, 147 ; entertained by
Albemarle, 148 ; his foreign policy,
149 ; letter to the Prince of Orange,
149 ; request disregarded, 150 ;
recalls Sidney, 151 ; his restora-
tion, 159 ; petition to, 162 ; con-
tribution of, 163 note ; Rye House
Plot to murder, 166 ; trap for, i66 ;
refuses pardon for Russell, 167 ;
orders his household, 168 ; Albe-
marle attends, 172 ; opinion of
the Duchess, 174, 175 ; last illness,
178 ; death, 179 ; funeral, 180 ;
condolences for, 181 ; leaves
money to repair Exeter Castle,
196 ; mentioned by Monmouth,
203, 204 ; interest in galleon, 243 ;
receives booty of buccaneers, 282 ;
importuned, 286 ; example of, 301 ;
mentioned, 353.
Charterhouse, Ormonde pleads for,
265.
Charters, new, 119 ; influence of,
188.
Chatham, Lord, his funeral, 35.
Dutch attack on, 25.
Chatsworth, painting at, 68.
Chelmsford, militia of, 98; James n.
proclaimed at, 182 ; political dis-
cussions at, 183 ; election at, 184,
185, 186 ; King at, 235 ; mentioned,
158, 173-
Chelsea, entertainment at, 59.
Cheney, William, Lord, 256 note ;
trustee for Albemarle, 274.
Cheshunt, Parish of, 47.
China, ornaments from, 82.
Emperor of, 344, 347.
Empress of, 347.
Christ Church, Oxford, mentioned,
121.
Church of England, supporters of,
187.
Churchill, Arabella, her relations
with James 11., 206 ; mother of
H. Fitz-James, 348 note.
Churchill, John (first Duke of Marl-
borough), ensign at Monck's funeral,
36 ; describes defeat of militia, 200 ;
Albemarle writes concerning, 204 ;
joins Albemarle, 208 ; created
major-general, 213 ; comments on,
by Blathwayt, 219.
Father Thomas, directions re-
garding, 268 ; return to England,
304 ; receives letters from Reid,
313 ; out of favour, 322 ; letter
to Albemarle, 327 ; meets Bar-
wick, 328.
City artificers, at fire, 163.
Clare, Lady. See Cavendish, Mar-
garet.
Earl of (John Holies). See
Newcastle, Duke of.
College (Cambridge), mentioned,
138 ; Albemarle's letters preserved
in, 182.
Clarendon House. See Albemarle
House.
• Earl of (Edward Hyde), im-
peachment of, 23 ; traditions of,
70 ; builds his house, 81.
Clarges, Anne. See Albemarle,
Duchess of.
Lady (wife of Sir W. Clarges),
gossip of, 125.
Sir Thomas, an apothecary, 7 ;
ill-treats sister, 9 ; visits Monck,
10 ; meets Charles 11., 18 ; knighted,
20 ; quarrels with Monck, 24 ;
gives money to Christopher, 24 ;
influence upon Albemarle, 63 ;
guardian, 76 ; his mismanagement,
^^ ; letter to Albemarle, 78 ;
letter to Montagu, 79 ; speech by,
III ; referred to, 159 ; defends
Albemarle, 226; death of, 348;
mentioned, 86.
Sir Walter, Albemarle summons,
143 ; second in duel, 144 ; Duchess
flatters, 159 ; trustee for Albemarle,
274 ; death of, 348 ; mentioned, 77,
256 note, 347.
Clayton, Sir Robert, his house, 270 ;
comments on Duke, 271.
Cleford (?), Lord, marriage of,
306.
Clerkenwell, house in, 175 ; church
in, 176 note; Duchess in, 196;
366
INDEX
emissaries come to, 263 ; mentioned,
192.
Cleveland, Duchess of (Barbara
Villiers), her house, 169 ; at Court,
178.
Clewer, manor of, 47 ; left to B.
Grenville, 276.
Clitheroe, Honour of, 47 ; member
from, 188 ; bought by Montagu,
347-
Coach horses. See Horses.
Cock Pit (house called), 19, 31, 32,
169, 170, 173.
Coffee House, Wh — , Albemarle quar-
rels in, 145 ; mentioned, 144.
Cofi&n, Richard, expostulates with
Albemarle, 234.
Coga, Dr. (Vice-Chancellor of Cam-
bridge University), visits New-
market, 136 ; informed of Mon-
mouth's removal and Albemarle's
appointment, 137 ; correspondence
with Albemarle, 138 ; goes to
London, 139 ; his speech, 141.
Coinage of Jamaica, 312.
Bill (Jamaica), 299.
Colchester, Albemarle returns from,
120 ; mentioned, 190.
Lanes, mentioned, 185.
Lord, in a coffee-house, 144.
Coldstream, Monck encamps at,
15-
Guards, at Monck's funeral,
35.
Cologne, 55.
Columbus, Christopher, his ghost,
2S0.
Committee of Petitions and Privileges,
Albemarle a member of, 80.
Commonwealth, Newhall during the,
97 ; seizes Jamaica, 281.
Compton, Henry (Bishop of London).
See London, Bishop of.
Constable of Carolina, Lord High,
Albemarle, 116.
Robert, pardoned, 50.
Conway, Lord, letter from Ranelagh,
104 ; interview with Vice-Chan-
cellor, 136 ; consultation with
Jenkins, 137 ; letter to Jenkins,
145 ; letter to Arlington (?), 149.
Conyers, Baron (Darcy), signs petition,
163.
Cooke, Colonel, writes to Ormond,
115-
Copplestone, John, writes to Albe-
marle, 233 ; theorj^ of, 235.
Copt Hall, 237, 238 ; King sups at,
239.
Combury, Viscount (Henry Hyde),
48 ; letter to, 82.
Cornish, trial of, 166 note.
Cornwall, mentioned, 188.
Cornwallis, Lord, marries, 308.
Coronation of James 11., 189 ;
mentioned, 191.
Corpus Christi College, Oxford, men-
tioned, 121.
Cotton, Sea-born, mentioned, 301
note.
Council chamber, mentioned, 290.
Courtney, Mr., of the Temple, 323.
Covell, Mr., second mate, 248.
Coventry, Henry (Secretary of State),
his letters from Newmarket, 93-95.
Sir William, shows Monck's
letters, 24.
Cox, Captain, names island, 315.
Coxen, a pirate, 300 ; surrenders,
314 ; mentioned, 321.
Crag, M., letter to Duchess of Albe-
marle, 306.
Craven, Earl of (William Craven),
fights plague, 21 ; at Monck's
funeral, 35 ; steward, 147 ; at fire,
163 ; at Council, 255 ; trustee for
Albemarle, 2 74 ; shares in R. A. Co.,
285 ; letter from Albemarle, 320.
Crewkern, militia marches from, 200.
Croft, Mr., mentioned, 308.
Cromwell, Oliver, his business, 11 ;
death of, 12 ; friend of W. Pierre-
pont, 27 ; buys Newhall, 97 ; his
soldiers, 165 ; soldiers in Jamaica,
281 ; officers buried in Jamaica,
292.
Richard, fall of, 15.
Crosse, L. (the miniaturist), portrait
of Albemarle, 91 ; portrait of
Lady Thanet, 192.
Crowley, William Ambrose, his
voyages, 315.
Crown, St. Edward's, in procession,
189.
Crowne, royal frigate, 64.
Crowne, John, dramatist, 71.
Cuba, the Bishop of, recalls Father
Churchill, 304.
Currant Intelligence, quoted, 128.
Cuton Hall, mentioned, 46.
INDEX
367
D
Dalby, Jeilrcys to buy, 251 ; sold
to Jeffreys, 271 ; mentioned, 47,
270.
Dalkeith House, mentioned, 11,
26.
Danby, Earl of (Thos. Osborne), his
policy, 70 ; becomes K.G., 100 ;
remonstrates with King, loi ;
favours marriage of Prince of
Orange, 102 ; his agreement with
France discovered, 107 ; Albe-
marle writes to, 108 ; endures
calumny, no; writes letter to
King, in; favour Prince of Orange,
112 ; advises King from Tower,
120 ; letter to, from Duke of
Newcastle, 132 ; letter from New-
castle, 161 ; letter from J. L., 162 ;
petition in behalf of, 163 ; released,
172 ; mentioned, 322.
Darcy, Sir Thomas, stands for Parlia-
ment, 183.
Dartmouth, Earl of (see also Legge),
with Jenkins, 166 ; Albemarle's
letter to, 196 ; intercedes for
Albemarle, 225 ; at stag-hunt,
235, 236; advises King, 237;
offered shares, 247 ; at Council,
255 ; commands fleet, 329.
Davis, Mrs., an actress, 71.
Declaration of Indulgence, sent to
Albemarle, 261.
Deed of 1681, signed, 124 ; mentioned,
227 ; conditions named in, 340.
Deincourt, Lord, dances in masque,
71.
Delamer, Lord, trial of, 166 note.
Denbigh, Lord, signs petition, 163 ;
mentioned, 162.
Denmark, Prince of, buys lace, 157 ;
installation of, 177 ; chief mourner,
180 ; at stag-hunt, 235, 236.
Deptford, launching at, 114.
Derby, Lord, proposes his brother
for Parliament, 188.
Derham, Sir R., appeal to, 114.
Devon, Deputy Lieutenants of, 122 ;
Albemarle visits, 163 ; boundaries
of, 197 ; Albemarle resigns Lord-
Lieutenancy of, 218; Bath, Lord-
Lieutenant of, 225 ; men of, 234 ;
Albemarle's Devon blood, 243 ;
mentioned, 47.
Devon Militia, condition of, 122-23;
raised against Monmouth, 195 ;
join Monmouth, 199, 201 ; refuse
to fight, 200 ; King complains of,
202 ; mentioned, 213.
Divers, brought to wreck, 248 ;
illness of, 249.
Diving bell, Albemarle improves,
92 ; used at wreck, 249, 250.
Dobson, William (painter), mentioned,
68.
Dolman, Colonel, plots to make
Monck king, 16-17.
Domestick Intelligence, 133.
Dorchester, house of, 28.
Dorset, Earl of (Charles Sackville),
out of favour, 223 ; from home,
238 ; his excuses, 239.
Lady (Mary Compton), ex-
cuses of, 238 ; cooks supper for
King, 239.
Dort (Flanders), window made in.
at
at
Dove, ship, 322.
Dover, Lord (Henry Jermyn),
Windsor, 252.
Street, mentioned, 82.
Downs, ship anchors in, 250.
Drake, Sir Francis, picture of,
Newhall, 97.
Draper's Hall, Monck lives in, 16 ;
meeting held in, 286.
Dryden, John, mentioned, 139.
Duel, prevented by Albemarle, 116 ;
Albemarle prevented from fighting,
124 ; Monmouth challenges Hali-
fax to a, 133 ; avoided by Mon-
mouth, 134 ; Albemarle fights a,
144.
Dunbarton, Earl of (George Douglas),
mentioned, 148.
Dunblaine, Lord (Peregrine Osborne),
dances in masque, 71.
Dunkirk, rumour concerning, 57 ;
sale to French, 81.
Dutch, descent feared, 326.
Ambassador, at Ipswich,
103.
war of 1664, 21 ; war of
1666, Christopher Monck captain
in, 23 ; at Chatham, 25 ; war
of 1673, Albemarle's part in,
55-60.
Dutton, Sir Ralph, greyhound cours-
ing, 115.
368
INDEX
Easter, James ii. celebrates, 186-7;
after, 188.
Edward 11., times of, 95.
Edward iv., father of A. Plantagenet,
4 ; ancestor of Monck, 17.
Elections, parliamentary', in Essex,
108, 109; Whigs triumph in, iig,
120 ; prospects of, 181 ; member
for University, 182 ; at Maiden,
183 ; at Chelmsford, 185, 186 ; at
Clitheroe, 188; in Essex, 190;
mentioned, 184.
Eliot, Mr., mentioned, 52.
Elizabeth, Queen, at Newhall, 96 ;
her times, 283.
EUerson, made Chief Justice, 298 ;
Albemarle's estimate of, 299 ;
speaker of Assembly, 309 ; speech
of, 310 ; entertains Albemarle, 318.
Elmore, Lieut. -Colonel, resigns judge-
ship, 298.
Ely, Bishop of (Mathew Wren, d.d.),
a prisoner, 6 ; in the Tower, 7.
Emanuel College (Cambridge), Albe-
marle's letter at, 182.
Emerton, Mr., case of, 147.
Enfield, Parish of, 47.
Ensurance Company, at fire, 163.
Essex, Earl of (Arthur Capel), im-
plicated in plot, 166 ; commits
suicide, 167.
Lady, her pew, 273.
estates in, 46 ; election in,
108, 109, 190 ; deputy Lieutenant
of, 215 ; Albemarle resigns Lord
Lieutenancy of, 218 ; hunt in, 237.
militia, exercised by Albemarle,
98 ; mentioned, 86.
Euston (Arlington's house). King's
visits to, 52, 94.
Evelyn, John, describes Louise
Keroualle, 41 ; visits Euston, 52 ;
visits Berkeley Castle, 60 ; attends
masque, 71 ; describes Albemarle
House, 81, 82; quoted, 83; visits
Newhall, 97, 98 ; admires Prince of
Orange, 104 ; describes election,
109 ; describes Stafford's trial, 117 ;
sees a meteor, 118 ; disapproves
of Revels, 133 ; Lionberg's supper,
172 ; evening at Whitehall, 178 ;
observations on Court, 180, 181 ;
quoted, 188.
Exchange, New, mentioned, 6.
Old, mentioned, 129.
Exchequer, debt to Albemarle, 251.
Exclusion BUI, introduced, in ;
terms of, 112 ; defeated, 116, 117 ;
Whigs support, 120 ; attitude of
supporters, 195.
Exeter, Albemarle visits, 99 ; letters
directed to, 123 ; Albemarle's
head-quarters at, 196 ; mentioned,
200 ; Bath, 212.
Fairwell, Arthur (husband of Mary
Monck), marriage, 14 ; Albemarle's
Secretary, 69, 73, 79 ; a seat in
Parliament for, 182 ; is not elected,
188 ; connection with New Eng-
land, 244 ; letter directed to, 263 ;
mentioned, 158.
(son of preceding), pro-
vision for, 341.
Mary. See Monck, Mary.
Falcon, mentioned, 64.
Falkland, Sir John, a Gentleman
Adventurer, 245 ; shares of, 247 ;
treasure received by, 251 ; at
Windsor, 253 ; his executrix,
256 note.
Viscountess, 256 note.
Fanshaw, Sir Thomas, stands for
Parliament, 183 ; with Albemarle,
185.
Fenwick, John, his pardon, 50.
Ferguson, lands with Monmouth,
197.
Feversham, Earl of (Louis Duras),
goes to France, 102 ; returns to
France, 105 ; at Oxford, 121 ;
gaming of, 131 ; at Revels, 133 ;
signs petition, 163 ; created
general, 207 ; conduct at Sedge-
moor, 213 ; elected to Order of
Garter, 216 ; receives Albemarle's
ofi&ces, 218; comments on, by
Blathwayt, 219; visits Winchester,
224; visits Albemarle, 235, 236;
mentioned, 208, 215, 218.
Fez, mentioned, 146 ; Ambassador
to, 148.
Finch, Lord, elected steward, 147.
Finet, William, petition to Albemsurle,
193-
Fingal, Lady, mentioned, 306.
INDEX
369
Fire, Great (of London), 21.
Fitz- James, Henry, created Duke of
Albemarle, 348.
Flatfoot, a racehorse, 52.
Florida, Gulf of, 255.
Flournay Park, 47 ; settled on C.
Monck, 348.
Footman (Albemarle's), boxing match
by, 132 ; repeats Grey's words,
143-
Foresight, King's frigate, 253 ; sails,
256 ; at Barbadoes, 279.
Fountain, John (servant of Albe-
marle), mentioned, 193, 213.
Fox, Sir Stephen, 252.
Foxcroft, Isaac, a Gentleman Adven-
turer, 245 ; writes to Albemarle,
246 ; shares of, 247 ; treasure re-
ceived by, 251.
France, American possessions of,
293 ; relations with, 303.
Francis, Alban (a Benedictine monk),
controversy with Cambridge Uni-
versity, 263.
Furneys, mentioned, 47.
Furnishings, in seventeenth century,
83.
Galapagos Islands, concerning the,
315-
Galleon, lost Spanish, 243.
Gardiner, Dr. Samuel, Albemarle
recommends, 169.
Garter, Order of, insignia of, 30 ;
Chapter held of, 32 ; installation
at Windsor, 42 ; installation of
Newcastle and Danby, 100; instal-
lation of Prince George of Denmark,
177; election held of, 216.
Gazette, advertisement in, 54.
Generous Hannah, Duchess boards
the, 333.
Gentlemen Adventurers, names of,
245, 247 ; fears of, 250 ; grow
prodigal, 251 ; receive medals,
252 ; dependent on King, 253 ;
new patent for, 254 ; petition to,
255 ; lawsuit concerning, 347 note.
Gerbier, Sir Balthazar, painting by,
97-
Gibbon, Grinling, carving by, 83.
Glass House, Monck lives in, 16.
Glastonbury, Monmouth goes to,
208.
Glenorchy, Lady. See Cavendish,
Frances.
Lord, marries, 191 ; writes, 350.
Glentworth, mentioned, 28.
Gloucester, Court visits, 276.
Gloucestershire, Badminton in, 219.
Godfrey, Colonel, second in duel, 144.
Sir Edmondberry, murder of,
106.
Godolphin, Sidney, letter of, 55 ;
attends Mass, 187; at Windsor, 252.
Good Luck, saUs, 256 and note ; at
Barbadoes, 279.
Goodenough, lands with Monmouth,
197.
Goring House, entertainment at, 59.
Government Houses (Jamaica), in
disrepair, 280.
Gower, Lady Jane Leveson, men-
tioned, 348 note.
W. Leveson, mentioned, 177
note.
Grafton, Duke of (Henry Fitz-roy), at
Oxford, 121 ; at the Revels, 133 ;
commands militia, 210.
Gramont (or Grammont), Comte de,
his memoirs, 48.
Granville of Lansdown. See Lans-
down.
Gravesend, embarked from, 57.
Green Ribbon Club, meetings of, 117.
Gregory, Frances, nurse of the Duchess
of Albemarle, 85.
Grenville family, their influence, 69 ;
opposed by Duchess, 227 ; soothe
Albemarle, 276 ; bequests to, 342.
Hon. Bernard : at Monck's
funeral, 36 ; friendship for Albe-
marle, 80 ; lives in York Buildings,
172; comments of, 177; con-
versation with Albemarle, 276 ;
hears of Albemarle's death, 323.
Sir BevU, voyage of, 5 ; his
son, 13.
Bevil (son of John, Earl of Bath),
Albemarle's godson, 80; mentioned,
347-
George, mentioned, 347 ; created
Duke of Albemarle, 349 and note.
Sir John. See Bath, Earl of.
Grey of Werke, Lord, at Essex
election, 108 ; in gunshop, 143 ;
duel with Albemarle, 144 ; con-
nection with Rye House Plot, 166;
Monmouth, 197.
370
INDEX
Greyhounds, coursing of, 115.
Griffen, Esq., Edward (later Lieuten-
ant - Colonel), his pardon, 50 ;
letter to Albemarle, 187.
Grimsthorp, 162.
Grindon, manor of, dower of Eliz.
Cavendish, 28, 47 ; mentioned,
156.
Grosvenor, Fulke, writes to Albe-
marle, 2 10- II.
Guanaboa (Jamaica), mentioned, 326
note.
Guards, duel of gentlemen of the,
116 ; reformed by Albemarle, 119 ;
criticised by Monmouth, 134 ;
called Banditti, 145 ; criticised
by James 11., 187 ; mentioned, 212.
City, stop Albemarle's coach,
120.
Gumble, Dr., chaplain and biographer
of Monck, ID.
Gunsmith, repeats Grey's words, 143.
Gwynn, Nell, an orange girl, 48 ;
procures Buckingham's release,
loi ; visits Oxford, 121 con-
tribution of, 163 note.
H
Habeas Corpus Act, passing of, no.
Hack, Captain, his voyage, 315.
Haddock, Sir Richard, sells shares,
250.
Haddu, Hamet Ben Hamet Ben.
See Morocco Ambassador.
Hadley, Ann, letter concerning
Montagu, 349.
Haiti. See Hispaniola.
I Halifax, Marquis of (George Savile),
s, marries Gertrude Pierrepont, 70 ;
member of Privy Council, no;
summons Duke of York, 112 ;
speeches against the Exclusion
Bill, 117; votes Stafford not
guilty, 118 ; letter from Lady
Sunderland, 131 ; challenged by
Monmouth, 133 ; elected Steward,
147; assists Monmouth, 177;
attends James 11., 187.
Hamilton, Duke of (William Douglas),
mentioned, 172.
Hampstead, mentioned, 173; Duchess
removes to, 174.
Hampton Court Palace, offered to
Monck, 1 7 ; Newhall resembles.
97 ; King at, 114 ; Privy Council
meets at, 255.
Handkerchief Reef, ship aground on,
250.
Hannis, Mrs., meets Chapman, 169.
Harle}', Abigail, letter concerning
Montagu, 349.
Sir Edward, letter from Mar-
vel, 101-2.
Harrington, William, letter of, 108.
Harwich, news from, 53 ; Albemarle
waits at, 103 ; election at, 1S2 ;
Pepys wishes seat, 188.
Hatfield, stag killed near, 237.
Havre, Due de, letter of, 58.
Hawkeshoase (?), mentioned, 47.
Henrietta Maria, shares in R. A. Co.,
285.
Henry, The, sent to treasure ship,
247, 248.
Henry vii., his chapel, 35, 96,
180, 353 ; owns Newhall, 95 ; his
son Arthur, 96; mentioned, 211
note.
Henry viii., befriends A. Plantagenet,
4 ; owns Newhall, 95 ; dislikes
window, 96 ; feast at Newhall,
236.
Herbert, Admiral, supports Albe-
marle, 209.
Lord, criticises the guard, 143.
Hereford, mentioned, 47.
Hicks, Sir W., mentioned, 238.
Hispaniola (Haiti), galleon lost off,
244, 245, 248 ; mentioned, 255.
Historical MSS. Commission Report,
148.
Hobbs, Mr., consultation with, 272.
Holland, Shaftesbury dies in, 166 ;
activities of Monmouth in, 195 ;
troops recalled from, 207.
Hollanders, activities of, 285.
Holmes, Sir Robert, Commissioner
for Suppression of Piracy, 302 ;
asks pardon for pirates, 313 ;
mentioned, 314, 326.
Holy Sepulchre, Sisters of, present
owners of Newhall, 96.
Honduras, Bay of, 300.
Honey wood, Mr., and election in
Essex, 108.
Horses, Albemarle's coach, 102, 103,
151 and note.
Horses, Albemarle's race, 116, 123
note ; win at Winchester, 223.
INDEX
371
Horses, saddle, 148 ; Duchess's,
173, 174-
Hounslow Heath, dinner on, 273.
House of Commons (see also Parlia-
ment), Christopher Monck a mem-
ber of, 23, 37 ; a seat in, 69 ;
Montagu elected to, 107 ; speeches
against Duke of York, 11 1 ; anger
over the failure of Exclusion Bill,
117; insists on passing Exclusion
Bill, 122 ; Ambassador visits, 135 ;
discuss conduct of militia, 226.
House of Lords (see also Parliament),
appoints Albemarle's guardians,
76 ; Albemarle takes his seat in
80 ; Albemarle constant in attend-
ance on, no ; defeats Exclusion
Bill, 116-17; Ambassador visits,
135 ; Albemarle's last visit to, 273 ;
Duchess brought to, 347.
Howard of Escrick, Lord, turns in-
former, 166.
Sir Philip, at Monck's funeral,
36; dies as Governor of Jamaica,
234, 240 note ; his Governorship,
288.
Hyde, Mrs. Bridget, case of, 147 and
note.
Laurence, at the Revels, 133.
Park, review in, 187.
iNCHiguiN, Earl of (William
O'Brien), Governor of Jamaica,
323 ; letter to Committee, 324.
India, diving learned in, 246.
Ingoldsby, Sir Henry, quarrels with
Albemarle, 145.
Ipswich, Dutch Ambassador waits
at, 103.
Ireland, Monck property in, 47, 60;
mentioned, 284.
Ivy, Colonel, arrested, 309.
Jacobs, a pirate, 300.
Jamaica, rumours concerning Gover-
norship, 233 ; Howard, Governor
of, 233 ; Albemarle accepts
Governorship of, 234 ; Albemarle's
interest in, 243 ; acting Governor
of, 244 ; provisions from, 250 ;
expeditions from, 254 ; edicts un-
popular in, 261 ; knighthood
in, 266 ; Spaniards to settle
in, 268 ; Roman Catholics in,
268 ; Father Churchill In, 269 ;
preparations for, 272 ; discon-
tented party in, 280 ; history
of, 281 passim ; prosperous, 282 ;
l^oyning's Act enforced in, 284 ;
constitution for, 284 ; coinage of,
287 ; criminals shipped to, 287 ;
grievances against R. A. Co., 287 ;
grievances, 289 ; description of,
292 ; Governor's speech, 296 ;
election, 309 ; condition of, 310 ;
agent for, in England, 311 ; unruly
element in, 325 ; militia guards
Duchess, 325 ; without news, 329 ;
mentioned, 235, 275.
Jamaica Assembly, under Poyning's
Act, 284 ; malcontent, 300 ; desire
to adjourn, 297.
Council of plan to receive
Albemarle, 280 ; meeting of, 293 ;
prevent Albemarle from leaving
island, 297 ; meet, 320 ; protect
Duchess, 325-6 ; Duchess thanks,
326.
General Court of, 297.
Grand Court of, 298.
Governors of. See Modyford,
Morgan, Vaughan, Carlisle, Thomas
Lynch, Howard, Albemarle, Inchi-
quin.
Revenue Bills, disputes over,
284.
James i., usage in his time, 44 ;
favourite residence, 46.
James 11. (see also York, Duke of)
reforms Court, 180 ; interest in
election, 182-3 ', proclaimed at
Chelmsford, 182 ; orders Mass in
the Abbey, 186 ; criticises Guards,
187 ; his bigotry, 188 ; corona-
tion of, 189 ; thanked by New-
castle, 191 ; forms household, 194;
protests to Prince of Orange, 195 ;
orders to Albemarle, 198 ; letter of,
concerning Monmouth, 199 ; letter
from Churchill, 200 ; complains
of militia, 202 ; compliments
Albemarle, 205 ; his son, Berwick,
206 ; misunderstands militia, 207 ;
gives command to Feversham,
207 ; orders to Albemarle, 212 ;
desires an army, 216 ; reproaches
372
INDEX
Albemarle, 217; accepts Albe-
marle's resignations, 218 ; other
acts ot, 223 ; attends races at
Winchester, 224 ; forgives Albe-
marle, 225 ; his speech, 226 ;
to visit Newhall, 233 ; confers
Governorship on Albemarle, 234 ;
arrives at Chelmsford, 235 ; stag-
hunt at Newhall, 236 ; visits
Albemarle, 237 ; supper at Copt
Hall, 238 ; letter to Prince of
Orange, 239 ; promise to Albe-
marle, 245 ; patent to Albemarle,
246 ; share of treasure, 247 ;
rumours concerning treasure, 251 ;
orders medals struck, 252 ; further
patents for treasure, 253 ; knights
Phips, 254 ; at Hampton Court,
255 ; attack on Cambridge Uni-
versity, 262 ; Albemaile inter-
cedes for University with, 263 ;
anger at University, 265 ; grants
to Albemarle, 266 ; care for R. A.
Co., 267 ; orders to Albemarle,
268 ; entertains Albemarle, 272 ;
visits Gloucester, 276 ; reports to,
279 ; Albemarle petitions, 290 ;
proclamation of, 293 ; the King's
dues, 294 ; opinion of Jamaica,
296; warning to Albemarle, 297;
confirms Albemarle's acts, 299 ;
affronted by Bishop of Cuba, 304 ;
his proposals, 311; gives further
powers to Albemarle, 313; birth
of son, 317; news of Albemarle's
death brought to, 322 ; cancels
Albemarle's acts, 323 ; flight of,
323 ; Wright's loyalty to, 332 ; in
France, 334 ; Albemarle's loyalty
to, 335 ; creates son Duke of Albe-
marle, 348; mentioned, 193, 291,
308, 310, 349.
James and Mary, sent to treasure
ship, 246, 248, 249 ; medal shows,
252.
Japan, furnishings from, 82.
Jeffrey's, Lord Chancellor, Albe-
marle in treaty with, 251 ; Council
meeting, 255 ; presides, 265 ;
mentioned, 270; buys estates, 271.
Jenkins, Sir Leoline, consults with
Conway, 137 ; letter from Conway,
145 ; Keeling confesses to, 166 ;
MSS. of, 256 note.
Jennings, Mrs. (later the Duchess of
Marlborough), acts in masque,
71.
Jerimiah, servant at Newcastle
House, 176.
Jesuit missionaries, curios sent by,
82.
Jetty Guavos, Governor of, 303.
Jones, Inigo, paintings at Newhall
designed by, 97.
Jonson, Mrs., mentioned, 159.
Katherine of Arragon, portrait
of, 96.
Keeling, Josiah, confesses Rye House
Plot, 166.
Kelly, Smith, Provost Marshal of
Jamaica, 293.
Kensington, Albemarle's body in,
334-
Kent, searcher for, 156.
Kenyon, R., correspondence with
Albemarle, 188.
Keroualle, Louise de. See Ports-
mouth, Duchess of.
Killigrew, Sir Peter, his house, 10.
King's Bench, mentioned, 193.
College (Cambridge), 263 note.
Evil, Monmouth touches for,
113-
Head Tavern, meetings at the,
117.
Houses (Jamaica) out of re-
pair, 280 ; repairs on, 316 ; men-
tioned, 318 ; Duchess leaves, 326.
Troop of Horse, mentioned, 145.
Kirke, Colonel Percy, brings rein-
forcements, 198.
Kirke's lambs, in the west, 213.
Kneller, Sir Godfrey, portrait of
Monmouth, 263.
Knight, Mr., a judge, 299.
Major Ralph, criticises bill,
300 ; Commissioner to England,
321 ; arrives in England, 322.
Konigsmark, Count, pursues Lady
Ogle, 129.
Ladies'" Visiting Day, mentioned,
345 note.
Lambert, General, mentioned, 15.
Lambeth Ale, Albemarle drinks,
224.
Palace, garrisoned, 120.
INDEX
373
Lancashire, mentioned, 47, 188, 347.
Lansdown, Lady (Martha Osborne),
gossips, 125.
Lord (Charles Grenville), mar-
ries, 70 ; intimacy with Albemarle,
80 ; death of, 348.
Lanyon, Philip, letter to Williamson,
99.
La Salle, discoveries of, 293.
Lascelles, Captain George, 21 note.
Lassels, Mrs. (Lascelles ?), 31.
Latton, William, Albemarle's secre-
tary, 269 and note.
Lauderdale, Duke of (John Maitland),
mentioned, 100; votes Stafford
guilty, 118.
Legaunee (Jamaica), Albemarle visits,
318 ; return from, 319.
Legge, Colonel George, quarrel with
Albemarle, 124 ; and see Dart-
mouth.
Leicester, Earl of (Robert Sidney),
5, 70.
Lely, Sir Peter, portrait of Duchess
of Albemarle, 29.
Le Neve or Neuve, John, 22 and note.
Levet, Dorothy, a witness, 105.
Lime Avenue at Newhall, 98.
Lincolnshire, 47 ; estates in, 341.
Lincoln's Inn Fields, mentioned, 167.
Lindsay, Lord, 162, 163.
Lionberg (Swedish Resident), enter-
tainment by, 172.
Lisbon, mentioned, 308.
Lisle, Lady, son's christening, 70.
Littleton, Thomas, letter from Har-
rington, 108.
The Lizard, mentioned, 277.
London, Albemarle goes to, 123 ;
Vice-Chancellor goes to, 138-40 ;
Feast of Apprentices of, 147 ; fire
in, 163 ; cold weather in, 168 ;
streets of, 227.
Bishop of (Henry Compton),
powers of, 262 ; appoints Albe-
marle's chaplain, 269 ; letter from
George Reid to, 298.
Lord Mayor of, at fire, 163.
Long, representative of Jamaica,
290.
Lords. See House of.
Louis XIV., his influence, 41 ; army
of, 57; understanding with, 122;
interest in treasure ship, 243 ;
mentioned, 53, 149.
Loyal Impartial Mercury, quotation
from, 146.
Loyal Protestant, quotation from, 126.
Loyd, Mr., servant of Albemarle, 171 ;
message by, 172.
Lucas, Lord, reports conversation,
217.
Lumley of Lumley Castle, Baron
(Richard), signs petition, 163.
Lunacy Commissioners, finding of,
350.
Luther, Mr., stands for Parliament,
184 ; defeated, 186.
Lutterell, Col., order from Albemarle
to, 200.
Luttrell, Narcissus, quotation from,
133 ; MSS. of, 256 note.
Lymbyry, Albemarle's steward, 54 ;
at Albemarle House, 84.
Lyme Regis, inhabitants join Mon-
mouth, 197; mayor of, 197; mayor
exaggerates, 198 ; mentioned, 199 ;
Monmouth leaves, 200 ; secured
by Albemarle, 209.
Lynch, Stephen, deputy of Holmes,
302 ; seizes pirates' goods, 303 ;
accepts bribes, 304 ; conflicting
stories, 313 ; quarrel with Albe-
marle, 314, 316 ; his behaviour,
320 ; pirates surrendered to, 321 ;
mentioned, 326 ; boards Assist-
ance, 330.
■ • Sir Thomas, Governor of
Jamaica, 284 ; death of, 288 and
note ; mentioned, 298.
M
Macaulay, T. B., referred to, 209.
Macbeth, Ambassador sees, 135.
Madeira, Island of, Albemarle lands
at, 278-9.
- — — wine, Albemarle drinks, 305.
Magdalene College, Cambridge, mas-
ter of, 263.
Maiden, Bramston elected at 183-4 ;
mentioned, 190.
Manchester, Earl of (Edward Mon-
tagu), at Whitehall, 32.
— — Lady, her marriage, 306.
Mancini, Hortense (Madam Mazarins) ,
gaming at her house, 131 ; Albe-
marle plays at, 155 ; Evelyn sees,
178.
Marlborough, Duke of. See Churchill,
John.
B
374
INDEX
Marvell, Andrew, verses on Clarendon
House, 8i ; letter to Harley, loi.
Mary i. (Queen of England), at
Newfaall, 96.
Mary 11. (Queen of England), acts
in masque, 71 ; marries William
of Orange, 102-4 ! becomes Queen,
340 ; death of, 348.
Mary of Modena (wife of James 11.),
disorder in her household, 180 ;
receives as Queen, 181 ; her
jewels, 189 ; treasure given to,
252 ; her health, 306, 307.
Masque of Calisto or The Chaste
Nymph, given at Whitehall, 71.
Massachusetts Bay Colony, Phips
governor of, 254.
Plantations, mentioned, 64, 244.
Mather, Increase, 301 note.
Maynard, signs petition, 163.
Sergeant, prosecutes Stafford,
117.
Sir William, stands for Parlia-
ment, 183 ; with Albemarle, 185.
Mazarins, Madam. See Mancini.
Medals, in honour of treasure, 252.
Medici, Cosmo dei. See Tuscany,
Grand Duke of.
Melford, Earl of (John Drummond),
at Council, 255.
Mell, Mr., mentioned, 328.
Meteor seen, 118.
Mexico, 280.
Middlesex, county of, mentioned, 47,
101.
Earl of (Chas. Sackville), loi.
Middleton, Sir Thomas, elected for
Harwich, 119.
Earl of (Charles Middleton),
writes to Albemarle, 179 ; at
Council meeting, 255 ; Secretary
of State, 327.
Midgeham, Hall and Tide Mills,
mentioned, 47 ; manor of, 341.
Mildmay, Colonel, candidate for
election, 108 ; his nose pulled, 109.
Mildmay, Mr., stands for election,
184 ; defeated, 186.
MUdmay, Sir E., election in Essex,
108.
MiUtia. See Devon, Essex, etc.
Mills, Honour, niurse to Christopher,
10 ; a witness, 346.
Minstephcns, Mr., mentioned, 327.
Mississippi River, discovered, 293.
Modyford, Sir Thomas, Governor
of Jamaica, 281 ; cousin of George
Monck, 282 ; gives commissions
to buccaneers, 283 ; connection
with Monck, 290.
Molesworth, Colonel Hender, report
from, 244 ; directions regarding,
268 ; perquisites of, 270 ; receives
Albemarle, 279-80 ; factor of
R. A. Co., 288 ; neglects King's
dues, 293 ; disregards Albemarle,
294 ; grievances of, 295 ; his
debts, 295 ; returns to England,
295 ; mentioned, 298 ; complaints
of, 321 ; death of, 323 ; Father
Churchill's estimate of, 328.
Monck, Lord, mentioned, 342.
of Patheridge, Baron, title
mentioned, 342.
Anne (Clarges). See Albemarle,
Duchess of.
Christopher. See Albemarle,
second Duke of.
Christopher, killed in 1774, 64.
(son of Col. T. Monck),
an orphan, 67 ; claim on Albe-
marle estate, 68 ; Duchess be-
friends, 227 ; negotiations with,
348.
Elizabeth (wife of T. Pride),
her marriage, 50 ; sells Pothcridge,
346; mentioned, 159.
(wife of C. Rawlinson),
her husband, 69.
estates of, 46, 47 ; dissipation
of, 155-
Frances (sister of George Monck),
letter from, 7 ; her husband, 22
note.
family, interest in Carribbean
Sea, 243; monument to, 341, 353;
suit of, 346.
George. See Albemarle, first
Duke of.
(infant son of G. Monck),
death of, 11.
Henry (son of Col. T. Monck),
an orphan, 67 ; claim on Albe-
marle estates, 68 ; Duchess be-
friends, 227.
(of Ireland), inheritance
of, 342.
Mary (wife of A. Fairwell),
playfellow of Christopher, 12 ;
marries Fairwell, 14 ; in Albe-
INDEX
375
marie household, 63 ; her husband,
69 ; letter to Albemarle, 158, 159,
160 ; Albemarle's provision for,
341.
Monck, Nicholas (Bishop of Hereford),
his daughter, 12 ; plots of, 13 ;
journey to Scotland, 14 ; made
bishop, 20 ; mentioned, 69, 158.
Colonel Thomas, his story, 65,
66 ; his death, 67 ; speculations
concerning, 68 ; Essex's favours
to, 78 ; Duchess befriends, 227 ;
inheritance of, 342 ; death of, 342.
Captain Thomas, his story, 64 ;
defends the wreck, 297 ; goes to
Boston, 325.
Sir Thomas, meets the King, 4.
Monmouth, Duchess of (Lady Anne
Scott, Countess of Buccleuch),
sought as wife for Christopher
Monck, 27; buys lace, 157; her
second marriage, 308.
Duke of (James Scott), marries,
27 ; at Chapter of Order of Garter,
32 ; at Windsor, 43 ; his evil life,
48 ; murder of beadle, 49 ; his
pardon, 50 ; popularity of, 59 ;
Shaftesbury's interest in, 70 ;
acts in masque, 71 ; remonstrates
with King, loi ; goes to France,
102, 105 ; accuses Danby, no ;
story of black box, 112 ; defies
King, 113 ; speaks for Exclusion
Bill, 117; votes Stafford guilty,
118; racehorses of, 123 note;
challenges Halifax, 133 ; avoids
duel with Albemarle, 134 ; en-
tertains Ambassador, 135; de-
prived of Chancellorship, 136,
137 ; installation of, 138 ; plots
against Albemarle, 143 ; quarrel
with Albemarle, 145 ; complains
to King, 146 ; connection with Rye
House Plot, 166 ; corresponds
with King, 177 ; refuses to re-
cognise James 11., 195 ; sails for
England, 196 ; raises standard,
197; news of landing of, 198;
proclaimed traitor, 199 ; defeats
militia at Axminster, 200 ; wel-
comed at Taunton, 201 ; pro-
claimed King, 202 ; invitation to
Albemarle, 203 and note ; reply
from Albemarle, 204 ; beyond
hope of pardon, 205 ; Berwick
serves against, 206 ; surrounded,
208 ; realises position, 209 ; at
Sedgemoor, 211 ; capture of, 213 ;
execution of, 214 ; mentioned,
245 ; portrait burned, 263 ; trans-
portation of rebels, 312 note.
Montagu family, friendly to Albe-
marle, 70.
of Beaulieu, Lord, his MSS., 67.
of Boughton, Baron (Edward
Montagu), befriends Elizabeth
Pride, 5r ; letter from Clarges, 79.
Mr., mentioned, 306.
House, Bloomsbiury, wall-paint-
ings in, 83 ; rebuilt, 347.
Whitehall, letters pre-
served at, 164 ; Albemarle MSS.
preserved at, 350. ■
Ralph (first Duke of), marriage
of, 60 ; house of, 83 ; betrays
Danby, 107 ; marriage of, 129 ;
woos Duchess of Albemarle, 344 ;
marries, 345 ; law-suit against Bath,
346 ; agreement with Bath, 347 ;
created Duke, 348 ; death of, 349 ;
mentioned, 350.
Monthermer, Viscount (see also
Montagu, Ralph), mentioned, 344.
The Moon, influence upon Albemarle,
319-
Moote Park, near Windsor, 47.
Moray, Lord, writes of Monmouth,
205 ; at Council, 255.
Mordaunt, Lady Mary, acts in
masque, 71.
Lord (Charles), expedition under,
254 ; threatens treasure ship, 297 ;
300, 307.
Morgan, Sir Henry, leadership of, 281;
sacks Panama, 283 ; is knighted,
283 ; Albemarle approves him,
291 and note ; society of, 305 ;
restored to Council, 313 ; death
of, 317 ; funeral, 318.
Morocco, Ambassador from (Hamet
ben Hamet ben Haddu), arrival
of, 134 ; portrait, 134 note ; sees
London, 135 ; visits Newmarket
and Cambridge, 136 ; at Albe-
marle's installation, 142 ; visits
Newhall, 146 ; letter to Albemarle,
147 ; mentioned, 155 ; cited as
precedent, 265.
Emperor of, present to King
Charles, 135 ; treaty with, 146.
376
INDEX
/
Morris, William, in plot, i8 ; in
Parliament, 23.
Moss, Dr. (dean of Ely), letter to,
269 note.
Mozet, Diego, slave merchant, 268.
Mulgrave, Earl of (John Sheffield),
at Monck's funeral, 36 ; regiment
of, 55 ; an active colonel, 56 ;
goes to Holland, 105.
Murrey, T. (the artist), paints
Duke and Duchess of Albemarle,
156.
N
Nantwich, Monck captured at, 6.
Narborough, Sir John, a Gentleman
Adventurer, 245 ; writes to Albe-
marle, 246 ; shares of, 247 ;
treasure received, 251 ; at Windsor,
253; commands second expedition,
253 ; sails, 256 ; executors, 256
note ; at Barbadoes, 279 ; de-
fends the wreck, 297 ; mentioned,
307.
Nassau, Prince of (Frederick Henry),
Monck serves under, 5.
Needham, Colonel, a judge, 299.
N-ellthorpe, lands with Monmouth,
197.
Neptune, on medal, 252.
Netherlands, English troops in, 149.
Nevis, Albemarle received at, 279.
Newbury, fight at, 226.
Newcastle, Duke of (Henry Caven-
dish), a Knight of the Garter, 100;
remains in country, 107 ; a Privy
Councillor, no; votes Stafford
not guilty, 118 ; consulted by
Albemarle, 125 ; letter to Danby,
132 ; condition of daughter, 161 ;
signs petition, 163 ; Glenorchy
reconamended to, 191 ; letter to
Sunderland, 191 ; visits daughter,
192 ; disposition of estates, 229 ;
favours Berwick, 230 ; congratu-
lates Albemarle, 235 ; trustee for
Albemarle, 274 ; mentioned, 322 ;
loyalty to King James, 329 and
note ; consents to marriage, 339 ;
mentioned, 340 and note ; re-
marks on daughter, 342 ; suit over
his will, 343. See also Ogle.
(John Holies), marriage of,
339 ; mentioned, 349 and note ;
guardian of Duchess of Albemarle,
350. See also Clare, Earl of.
Newcastle, Duke of (William Caven-
dish), his granddaughter, 27, 28 ;
affairs of, 54 ; Albemarle's letters
to, 75 ; loneliness of the, 87 ; death
of, 100.
Duchess of (Frances Pierrepont),
goes to Welbeck, 132 ; letter of
thanks from, 156 ; letter to
Duchess of Albemarle, 158 note ;
her daughter's behavioiur, 161 ;
displeasure of, 170 ; letter to
Barwick, 171 ; letter to Lady E.
Pierrepont, 176 ; anxieties of, 228 ;
marriage of daughter Margaret,
229 ; disapproves of Berwick, 229 ;
message to, 329 ; her politics, 339 ;
custodian of will, 340; opinion of
daughter, 343.
(Margaret Lucas), con-
sulted, 28 ; death, 72, 87.
mentioned, 229.
House, servant at, 171 ; offered
to Albemarle, 175 ; letter con-
cerning, 176 ; Albemarle lives at,
177 ; mentioned, 181 ; descrip-
tion of, 215 ; Bath visits, 231 ;
mentioned, 233, 271, 344.
New England, Dominion of, Lieut. -
Governor of, 245 ; Sabbath ob-
servance in, 249 ; mines in, 266 ;
mentioned, 252, 289.
Newhall, acquired by Monck, 18 ;
visitors at, 25, 26, 46, 80 ; servants
at, 86, 93 ; King to visit, 94 ;
description of, 95-97 ; owners of,
96 ; Albemarle at, 122 ; Prince of
Orange visits, 128 ; Albemarle at,
139; Albemarle leaves, 140;
Morocco Ambassador entertained
at, 146 ; Christmas spent at, 163 ;
fishing at, 164; Barwick prefers,
173; procession from, 184; Albe-
marle remains at, 187 ; Albemarle
retires to, 223 ; use of, 227 ;
hunting pai'ty at, 235 ; King sups
at, 236 ; stag in forest, 237 ; King
writes of, 239 ; papers left at,
274 ; Duchess retires to, 339 ;
disposition of, 341 ; mentioned,
223, 308, 344-
Newly Manor, 47.
Newmarket, 52 ; races of 1676, 93 ;
Court leaves, 95 ; Court at, 103 ;
INDEX
377
Albemarle's horse races at, 115-6,
123 note ; Albemarle entertains
King at, 128; Court and Ambas-
sador visit, 136; Court at, 149;
horse races at, 155 ; mentioned,
164 ; return from, 166 ; fire at,
166.
Newport, Lord, visits Winchester,
224.
Nicholson, Francis, a Gentleman
Adventurer, 245 ; shares of, 247 ;
treasure received by, 251, 256
note.
Noel, Mrs., mentioned, 306.
Nonconformists, strength of, 112.
Nottingham Castle, mentioned, 29,
132 ; gallery of, 156 ; Knight
Marshall visits, 229 ; mentioned,
235.
Norreys, signs petition, 163.
North America, mentioned, 293.
Northampton, Lady, 238, 239.
Northumberland, Lady, neglect of
granddaughter, 129.
(Elizabeth Wriothesley),
marries Montagu, 60, 129.
Earl of (Algernon Percy), his
widow, 60 ; his daughter, 128.
(George Fitz-Roy), suitor
for Lady Margaret Cavendish, 229.
House, procession forms at, 140,
142.
Norton Disney, 47.
Norwich, election 109.
O
Gates, Titus, and the Popish Plot,
106.
Ogle, Lady (Elizabeth Percy), marries
Lord Ogle, 128 ; disappearance of,
129 ; marries Duke of Somerset,
130.
Lord (son of second Duke of
Newcastle), marriage and death,
128.
Baron (Henry Cavendish) (see
also Newcastle, second Duke of),
his daughter Elizabeth, 27 ; gives
dower, 28 ; his regiment, 55 ;
friend of Danby, 70 ; visits
Duchess of Albemarle, 74 ; care
of father, 87 ; praises Newhall,
98 ; becomes Duke of Newcastle,
• xoo.
Ogle, Lady (Frances Pierrepont, wife
of H. Cavendish) (see also Duchess
of Newcastle), her daughter Eliza-
beth, 27 ; present at wedding, 29 ;
with Duchess of Albemarle, 31 ;
visits Duchess of Albemarle, 32 ;
upbraids Duchess of Albemarle,
72 ; letter of admonition from, 73,
74 ; warned against Clarges, 76 ;
letter from Lady Armyne, 88 ;
becomes Duchess of Newcastle,
100.
Oglethorpe, Colonel, attacks Mon-
mouth, 208.
Old Bailey, mentioned, 167.
Harbour, Albemarle visits, 316.
Jewry, house in, 27T.
Pretender (James), birth of, 317 ;
celebration in honour of, 318 ;
redeems promise, 349.
Oldmixon, favours Monmouth, 200 ;
describes fight at Axminster, 201.
Orange Tree, a frigate, 286.
Orange, WilHam, Prince of (Wilham
III.), negotiations for marriage of,
102 ; received by Albemarle, 103 ;
marriage of, 104; letter from Duke
of York, III ; heir to English
throne, 111-12 ; fetes in honour of,
125, 126, 127, 128 ; letter from
Albemarle, 148 ; receives saddle-
horse from Albemarle, 148 ; letter
from Charles 11., 149 ; gives com-
mand to Sidney, 150 ; letter from
James 11., 179 ; receives protests
from James 11., 195 ; letter con-
cerning Monmouth, 199 ; letter
from James 11., 202 ; letter from
James 11., 239 ; interest in treasure,
254 ; Governor of R. A. Co., 296 ;
lands at Torbay, 322 ; proclama-
tion against, 329 ; Montagu's
services to, 344 ; death of, 348 ;
mentioned, 53, 237.
Orleans, Duchess of (Henrietta
Stuart), visits England, 41 ; death
of, 48 ; shares in R. A. Co., 285.
Ormonde, Earl of (Thos. Boteler),
owns Newhall, 95.
Duke of (James Butler), arrests
Monck, 5 ; at Whitehall, 32 ; at
Monck's funeral, 36 ; at installa-
tion, 43 ; his income, 46 ; letter
from Cooke to, 115 ; elected
Steward, 147 ; attends James 11.,
378
INDEX
187 ; at Council, 255 ; pleads for
Oxford, 265.
Osborne, Martha, marries Lord Laus-
down, 70.
Thomas. See Danby, Earl of.
Ossley, Mr., wins a race, 116.
Ossory, Earl of (Thomas Butler),
Monck writes to, 66 ; in Holland,
102, 105 ; death of, 148 ; King's
comments on, 150.
Ostend, Albemarle lands at, 102.
Oxford, Earl of (Aubrey de Verc),
at Whitehall, 32 ; at installation,
43; referred to, 130; signs peti-
tion, 163 ; goes to Chelmsford,
182 ; out of favour, 223 ; concern
for Albemarle, 224.
(Edward Harley), notes
on Russell, 168 ; notes on treasure,
251, 252 ; letter from Dr. Strat-
ford, 269; quoted, 352.
Parliament sits at, 120, 121, 122.
University, preparations for
Parliament, 120-2 ; Ormonde pleads
for, 265.
Pacific Ocean, Islands in, 315.
Panama, sack of, 283.
Panton, throws candlestick, 160.
Papists put out of the Guard, 119.
Parker, Sir PhUip, elected for Har-
wich, 119 note.
Parliament, offers Hampton Court
to Monck, 17 ; dissolved, 108 ;
storm brewing in, no ; tries Staf-
ford, 117; dissolved, 119; prepara-
tions for new, 120; sits at Oxford,
121; dissolved by King, 122; pro-
spect of election, 181; meets, 192;
comments on Monmouth's Re-
bellion, 197 ; proclaims Monmouth
traitor, 199 ; statistics for, 216 ;
mentioned, 225 ; King's speech to,
226 ; act of, 264.
Patents, for treasure ship, 246 ;
second patent for treasure ship,
254 ; for mines, 266 ; to confer
knighthood, 266 ; as commander-
in-chief, 267.
Paulson, a Jesuit, 114.
Peachell, Dr. (Vice-Chancellor of
Cambridge), appeals to Albemarle,
263 ; letter to Albemarle, 264 ;
King offended by letter of, 265 ;
tried and deposed, 265.
Peak, Major, a judge, 299 ; enter-
tains Albemarle, 317.
Pembroke, Earl of (Thomas Herbert),
wrestling match, 126 ; checks
Monmouth, 208.
Penhallow, Major, resigns, 298 ;
Albemarle writes of, 299.
Tennecke, John, letter of, 48.
Pepys, Samuel, criticises Monck, 21
note ; quotations from, 24 ; elec-
tion of, 1 81-2 ; demands Har-
wich seat, 188 ; mentioned, 237 ;
at Windsor, 252 ; at debate, 253.
Percy, Lady Elizabeth. See Ogle.
family, mentioned, 129, 130.
Peru, mentioned, 280.
Peterborough, Earl of (Henry Mor-
daunt), at Monck's funeral, 36 ;
at Council meeting, 255.
Petre, Captain, mentioned, 308.
Jack (of Fidlers), mentioned,
308.
John, letter to Albemarle, 164.
Lady, her house searched,
114.
— ■ — Lord (Thomas), at election, 185 ;
letter to Albemarle, 308.
(William), in the Tower,
114.
Peyton, Catherine, mentioned, 348
note.
Philip II. (King of Spain), at New-
hall, 96.
Phillips, Sir Edward, orders from
Albemarle to, 200.
— — Mr., agent of the Duchess,
306.
Phips, Captain William (Sir), cruises
in Spanish main, 243 ; meets
Albemarle, 244 ; commands ex-
pedition, 246 ; share of treasure,
247 ; his journal, 247 ; trades
with Spaniards, 248 ; fishes for
treasure, 249 ; returns with treas-
ure, 250 ; foundation of fortune,
251 ; second in command, 253 ;
knighted, 254 ; sails, 256 ; at
Barbadoes, 279 ; his ship, 322.
Mrs., her gold cup, 251, 252.
Piccadilly, mentioned, 81, 141.
Pierrepont, Lady Elizabeth, men-
tioned, 72, 175 ; letter from
Duchess of Newcastle, 176.
INDEX
379
Pierrepont family, their politics, 70.
Frances. See Ogle, Lady.
Gertrude, marries Halifax, 70.
Gervase, trustee for Albemarle,
274.
■ William, consulted by Monck,
27 ; house of, 28 ; advice to Albe-
marle, yj ; Stringer employed by,
227.
Pirates (see also Privateers, Buc-
caneers, Biscayans), proclamation
against, 261 ; protection against,
286 ; seize ships, 300 ; mercliant-
men suffer from, 301-2 ; French,
313-
Plague, The Great, Monck braves,
21.
Plantagenet, Arthur (Viscount Lisle),
ancestor of Monck, 4.
Pleshie, mentioned, 237.
Plot, Popish, discovery of, 106 ;
Danby disbelieves in, 107 ; alarm
of citizens, in ; compared with
Rye House, 165.
Rye House, described, 165 ;
arrests for complicity in, 166 ;
results of, 188.
Ph^mouth, Albemarle visits, 99 ;
Mayor of, 100 ; Assistance at, 277 ;
salutes Albemarle, 278 ; Duchess
lands at, 333.
Earl of, goes to Holland, 105.
Pollexfen, Sir Henry, consults with
Duchess, 231.
Port Royal, Albemarle enters, 279 ;
Albemarle entertained at, 280 ;
mentioned, 289 ; house at, 291 ;
description of, 292 ; proclamation
at, 293 ; piratesl and at, 303 ; fetes
at, 317 ; Morgan buried from, 318.
Porta Bella, Lynch visits, 320.
Plata, 248.
Porter, Mr., mentioned, 7^.
Portsmouth, Duchess of (Louise de
Keroualle), arrives in England, 41 ;
entertainment of, 58 ; created
Duchess, 59 ; rooms at Whitehall,
83 ; at Oxford, 121 ; gaming with
King, 131 ; pleads for Russell, 167;
Evelyn sees, 1 78 ; her appearance,
308.
Albemarle goes to, 147 ; Assist-
ance at, 273 ; mentioned, 275 ;
Duke and Duchess go to, 276 ; sail
from, 277.
Portugal, Queen goes to, 306.
Potheridge, mentioned, 4, 47; Albe-
marle visits, 99 ; sold, 346.
Povey, John, quotation from,
235-
Powell, Mr. Baron, comments on
Albemarle, 271.
j Powis, Marquis of (William Herbert),
I at Council, 255.
j Pojming's Act in Ireland and Jamaica,
I 284.
I Presbyterians in Parliament, in.
! Preston, Lord, letters to, from
i Shepherd, 142.
I Price, Dr., chaplain and biographer
of G. Monck, 10; plots of, 14; tutor
to Christopher, 21 ; chaplain to
Albemarle, 85.
Pride, Elizabeth (cousin of Albemarle),
her family, 50 ; her marriage to
Sherwin, 51 ; her husband, 69 ;
Duchess hates, 159 ; heir-at-law,
346 ; sells Clitheroe, 347.
Col. (the regicide), 50.
Prince of Wales. See Old Pre-
tender.
Privateers (see also Pirates and Buc-
caneers), Sandwich tries to sup-
press, 282 ; encouraged by early
governors, 283 ; surrender to
Albemarle, 314.
Privy Council, new form of, 109, no ;
Albemarle attends, 116, 189, 226;
lords of, 166 ; meeting of, 192 ;
proclaims Monmouth traitor, 199 ;
meeting of, 255 ; Albemarle's last
visit to, 273 ; approval of, 284 ; on
Jamaica, 298.
Proclamation against duelling, men-
tioned, 116.
Protestant Association, 117; Whigs
support, 120.
Public Record Office, MSS. in,
271.
Pudsey, Elizabeth, attendant of
Duchess, yz ; a witness, 105.
Q
QuEENSBERRY, Marquis OF (William
Douglas), receives letter from
Moray, 205.
Queen's Troop of Horse, at Monck's
funeral, 36.
38o
INDEX
R
Radford, Thomas, first husband of
Anne Clarges, 6, 7, 31 ; mentioned,
346.
Ranelagh, letter to Conway, 104.
Rawlinson, Christopher, MSS. of,
274 note.
Cunven (of Cork Hall), husband
of Eliz. Monck, made bowbearer
of Bowlands, 69.
Elizabeth (Monck). See Monck,
Elizabeth.
Reeves, Major, a judge, 299.
Registry' (Cambridge University),
papers relating to Albemarle,
142 note.
Reid, George, accuses Molesworth,
295; letter to Bishop of London (?),
298 ; letter to Father Churchill,
313 ; opinion of Lynch, 314.
Ren wick, Dr., advises Albemarle,
230.
Reresby, Sir John, a letter from, 75 ;
record by, 226.
Revenue Bill (Jamaica), 312.
Rewton, manor of, 47.
Richmond, Duke of (Charles Stuart),
at Whitehall, 32 ; at Monck's
funeral, 36 ; at Windsor, 44.
Ridley Hall, mentioned, 46.
Riley, John (artist), portrait of Albe-
marle, 275.
Ringrose, Mr., a sword mender,
23-
Rochester, Earl of (Lawrence Hyde),
Bramston fears, 183 ; declines to
attend Mass, 187 ; at Council
meeting, 255.
(John Wilmot), example
of, 48 ; mentioned, loi.
Rockhalts, mentioned, 238.
Rodisse, the parish of, 47.
Rodney (a guardsman), attacks
Herbert, 145.
Rogers, John, letter to, 48.
Captain Francis, of the Henry,
247 ; finds treasure ship, 248.
Rolfe, John, letter to Albemarle
from, 119.
Roman Catholics (see also Papists),
and Rye House Plot, 165 ; King
Charles dies a, 179 ; and the Test
Act, 226 ; Berwick a, 230 ; pro-
tection for, 268.
Ranton, manor of, 47.
Roos, Lord (Richard), verses by,
345-
Lord, his greyhounds, 115
note.
Roothings, mentioned, 237.
Rotherhithe, fair at, 177.
Royal Adventurers of England. See
Royal African Company.
Royal African Company, Albemarle
to care for, 267 ; organisation
of, 284 ; shareholders, 285 ; a
monopoly, 285 ; history of, 284
passim ; dividends of, 286 ; policy
of, 289; factor of, 294,299; accounts
of, 295 ; and the Revolution, 296 ;
factor of, 299 ; mentioned, 304 ;
dissatisfaction with Coinage Bill,
312 note ; influence with King, 323.
Rumford, mentioned, 236.
Rumsey, Colonel, surrenders to
Albemarle, 166.
Rupert, Prince, constable of Windsor
Castle, 42 ; at installation, 43 ;
his mezzotints, 51 note ; com-
mands English forces, 56 ; lacks
sailors, 57 ; instructs Sherwin, 69 ;
imitated by Albemarle, 93 ; votes
Stafford guilty, 118 ; his secretary,
245 ; shares in R. A. Co., 285 ;
mentioned, 290.
Russell, William, Lord, and the Rye
House Plot, 166; his trial, 167;
his execution, 168 ; mentioned,
214 ; daughter marries Caven-
dish, 307.
Russian Ambassador, mentioned,
134-
Rutland, Earl of (John Manners),
mentioned, 162 ; signs petition,
163.
Madam, buys lace, 157.
Rye, Ambassador embarks at, 146.
House Plot. See Plot.
Salisbury, reinforcements sent to,
198.
third Earl of (James Cecil), in
the Tower, 101 ; his petition, 102.
fourth Earl of (James Cecil),
mentioned, 307.
Samana, mentioned, 248.
Sancroft, William. See Canterbury,
Archbishop of.
INDEX
381
Sandford, Francis, book describing
Monck's funeral, 35.
Sandwich, election at, 181, 182 ;
Parker at, 188 ; mentioned, 190.
Earl of (Edward Montagu), at
Whitehall, 32 ; at Monck's funeral,
36 ; at installation ceremony, 42,
43 ; and the Treaty of Madrid,
282.
Savage, Peter, pardon for, 50.
Saville, Henry, mentioned, 345 note.
Saxony, Prince Elector of, elected to
Order of Garter, 33 ; installation
of, 42.
Schomberg, Duke of (Frederick
Herman), arrival of, 55 ; lieutenant-
colonel, 56, 57.
Scilly Isles sighted, 250.
Scott, Lady Anne. See Monmouth,
Duchess of.
Searcher, patent as, 156.
Sedgemoor, battle of, 211 ; won by
Churchill, 213.
Sedgemoor, The Battle of, a farce,
213 note.
Shaftesbury, Earl of (Anthony Ashley
Cooper), friend of Albemarle, 70 ;
in the Tower, loi ; President of
Council, no ; Exclusion Bill, iii ;
favours Monmouth, 112 ; attends
Green Ribbon Club, 117 ; associates
suspected, 166 ; shares in R. A. Co.,
285.
Sharpe, Captain B., mentioned, 315.
Shelden, Gilbert. See Canterbury,
Archbishop of.
Shepherd, Fleetwood, letter of, 142.
Sheriffs, at fire, 163.
Sherwin, William (artist), marries
E. Pride, 51 ; aided by Albemarle,
69 ; portrait of Duchess of Albe-
marle, 227-8 ; suit against Albe-
marle's estate, 346.
Mrs. See Pride, Elizabeth.
Shorts farm, 47.
Shovell, Sir Cloudesley, mentioned,
256 note.
Shrewsbury, Earl of (Charles Talbot),
out of favour, 223.
Sidney, Algernon, a W'hig, 150 ; in
Rye House Plot, 166 ; trial and
execution, 168.
Dorothy (Lady Sunderland),
letter of, 70 ; letter to Halifax,
131.
Sidney, Henry (Earl of Romney),
example of, 48 ; mentioned, 70 ;
commander in Netherlands, 150 ;
recalled, 151 and note.
Robert. See Leicester, Earl of.
Skelton, Sir Bevil, supper given by,
124.
Skinner, Dr. Thomas, Monck's
physician and biographer, ii, 29.
Slave-trade, need for, 284 ; laws con-
cerning, 311.
Sloane, Hans (Dr.), borrows Phips'
journal, 247 ; report of treasure,
251 ; reports other adventures,
254 ; becomes Albemarle's physi-
cian, 272 ; record of the voyage,
278 ; enjoys fruits, 279 ; houses in
Port Royal, 292 ; his treatment,
316 ; warns Albemarle, 318 ;
diagnosis of case, 319 ; describes
death of Albemarle, 321 ; em-
balms body, 322 ; escorts the
Duchess, 330 ; account of voyage,
331 ; discussion with Wright, 332 ;
takes command, 333 ; attends the
Duchess, 339 ; mentioned, 344.
MSS., mentioned, 247.
Smith, Thomas or John, a seaman,
245 ; share of treasure, 247 ; pro-
tests of, 255 ; his share, 256.
Smith's Protestant Intelligence, quota-
tion from, 120.
Smithfield, fires of, in.
Somerset, third Duke of (William
Seymour), accompanies Albemarle,
48 ; no pardon for, 50.
sixth Duke of (Charles Seymour),
arrogance of, 92 ; marries Lady
Ogle, 130 ; at King's funeral, 180 ;
orders to, 202.
House, Monck's body lies at,
32 ; procession from, 35 ; guard at,
36 ; Albemarle's wills at, 64, 340 note.
Somersetshire, militia refuse to fight,
201 ; join Monmouth, 202 ; King
complains of, 202.
Southampton, estate near, 47.
t Southwell, Sir Robert, letter from
I Blathwayt, 219, 301 note.
! Sovereign, Albemarle aboard the, 57.
; Spaniards, trade with, 247, 248 ;
' mentioned, 280.
I Spanish Governor, protests of, 282.
I Spanish main, cruises in, 243, 244 ;
j inhabitants of, 281.
382
INDEX
Spanish Town (San Jaco de la Vega),
description of, 292 ; Council sum-
moned to, 297 ; heat of, 318.
Speacer, Lady. See Cavendish,
Arabella.
Spratt, Bishop, manuscripts of, 205
note.
Stafford, Viscount (William Howard),
trial of, 117 ; execution of, 118.
Street, site of Albemarle House,
82.
Staffordshire, estates in, 47.
Stag-hunts at Ncwhall, 235, 237.
Staidbourne, manor of, 47.
Stamp, Elizabeth, attendant of
Duchess, 343.
Stanhope, Mr., mentioned, 263 and
note ; received by Albemarle, 264.
Stanley, Mr., election of, 188.
Star Chamber, mentioned, 34.
Steeple Hall, mentioned, 46.
Sterling Castle, The, launching of,
114.
Stewkeley,John, letter to Verney, 116.
St. Albans, Earl of (Henry Jermyn),
at Monck's funeral, 36.
St. Clement Danes, Church of,
mentioned, 10, 19 ; inquisition
held in, 350.
St. George, feast of, mentioned, 33 ;
41, 45 and note ; at Newhall, 236.
Hall of, at Windsor, 42.
St. Germains, Palace of, tapestry
showing, 83 ; Court at, 348.
St. Helen's Roads, ship anchors in,
277-
St. Jaco de Castello, resides in Jam-
aica, 304 ; concerning, 313.
San Jaco de la Vega. See Spanish
Town.
St. James's Church, Clerkenwell, bells
of, 176 and note.
Piccadilly, Albemarle's pew
in, 273.
St. James's Palace, Monck lives in, 1 7 ;
near, 81 ; Bath's house in, 275.
Park, Albemarle walks in, 276.
Square, Thanet's house in, 192.
St. Katherine's Hall, Cambridge,
mentioned, 263 note.
St. Margaret's Church, Westminster,
window in, 96.
St. Nicholas Island, salutes Albemarle,
278.
St. Paul's Church, material for, 81.
Strafford, third Earl of (Thomas
Wentworth), marries, 307.
Earl of (Thomas Wentworth),
trial mentioned, 117.
Strand, Monck's neighbours in, 76 ;
fashion deserts the, 81 ; procession
in, 141 ; neighbours from, 346.
Stratford, Dr., letter of, 269 note.
Streater, the artist, 83.
Strickland, B., letter to Duchess,
307.
Mr., mentioned, 308.
Stringer, Sir Thomas, a seat in Parlia-
ment for, 188; aids Duchess, 227 ;
meets Albemarle, 271 ; urges
signing of will, 272 ; Albemarle
reflects upon, 276 ; examines wills,
340.
Suffolk, Earl of (James Howard), at
Monck's funeral, 36.
Sunderland, Earl of (Robert Spencer),
one of triumvirate, no ; losses at
basset, 131 ; steward, 147 ; attends
Mass, 187 ; letter from Newcastle,
191 ; letters to Albemarle dm-ing
Monmouth's Rebellion, 198, 199,
212 ; orders to Somerset, 202 ;
letter from Albemarle, 204 ; com-
pliments Albemarle, 209 ; pass to
Grosvenor, 210; letter to Bath,
212 ; writes to Churchill, 213 ;
queries regarding militia, 216 ;
mentioned, 217 ; Albemarle in-
quires of, 225 ; his son, 229 ;
orders regarding Commission, 240 ;
offered shares, 247 ; refuses emis-
saries, 263 ; interview with, 265 ;
letter to Albemarle, 294 ; inter-
view with Father Churchill, 327.
Lady, letter of, 151 note;
mentioned, 307.
Surrey, estates in, 47 ; election in,
109.
Sussex, Earl of (Thomas Ratcliffe),
Newhall granted to, 96 ; signs
petition, 163.
Sutton, Anne, mother of Schomberg,
56 note.
Sutton-on-Derwent, manor of, 47.
Sweden, King of, elected to Order
of Garter, 33 ; installation of, 42.
Swedish residence. See Lionberg.
Sydenham, John, letter to Albemarle,
148 ; letter of excuse to Albe-
marle, 206.
INDEX
383
Tamerlaine the Great, played at
Oxford, 121.
Tangier, business of, discussed, 93 ;
mentioned, 135, 213.
House, Albemarle House called,
81.
Tapestries, French, 83.
Tate, Nahum, continues Absalom
and Achitophel, 139.
Taunton, reception of Monmouth,
201 ; Monmouth proclaimed at,
202 ; occupied by Albemarle, 208 ;
mentioned, 199, 205.
maids of, their banners, 202,
203 note.
Taylor, Silas, agent at Harwich,
103.
Temple, Middle, gentlemen of, enter-
tained, 125.
Revels of, Albemarle attends,
133-
Sir William, summoned b}' King,
109, no, 129.
Lady, Lady Ogle joins, 129.
Tendring, Mr., mentioned, 308.
Test Act, effect of, 56 ; Albemarle
complies with, 80 ; discussed, 226.
Texel, battle of, fought, 58.
Thanet, Lady. See Cavendish,
Katherine.
Earl of, desires to be chamber-
lain, 131 ; signs petition, 163 ;
marries, 191 ; letter to Duchess
of Newcastle, 192 ; letter to Mon-
tagu, 345 ; mentioned, 306, 343.
Theatre, His Royal Highness's,
Macbeth given at, 135.
Theobald's, royal park of, 46 ; re-
version of, 80 ; mentioned, 346.
Thoresby, mentioned, 29.
Three Kings' Tavern, gateway of,
81 note.
Tuns Tavern, Monck lives at, 16.
Spanish Gypsies, shop of Anne
Clarges, 6.
Thynne, Thomas, marriage and
death of, 129.
Tinker, Albemarle's racehorse, 116.
Tories, name comes into use, 116;
and the Rye House Plot, 165 ;
loyalty of, 188.
Torrington, Earl of. See Albemarle,
second Duke of.
Totnes, Albemarle visits, 100.
Tottenham Court, scene of duel,
144.
Tower Hill, Stafiord executed on,
118 ; Sidney executed on, 168 ;
Monmouth executed on, 214.
— — of London, Monck a prisoner
in, 6, 7 ; peers imprisoned in, loi ;
Roman Catholic peers in, 106 ;
Petre imprisoned in, 114 ; Lieu-
tenant of the, 117 ; mentioned,
118; Danby in the, 120; Am-
bassador visits, 135 ; Russell,
Essex, and Sidney in, 167 ; men-
tioned, 349.
Towers, John, speaks seditiously,
309-
Trade and Plantations, Lords of the
Committee of, informed of Albe-
marle's Governorship, 240 ; learn
of treasure ship, 244 ; Albemarle
a member of, 245 ; mentioned,
290 ; letters from Albemarle to,
291, 299, 300-1, 303, 304, 311 ;
letter from Inchiquin, 324.
Traphan, Dr., Jamaican physician,
318 ; attends Albemarle, 320.
Treasure ship, wrecked, 243 : re-
port of, 244 ; arrival in England,
251 ; attack on, 297.
Treat}' of Dover, 41.
of Madrid, 282.
Treby, Lord Chief - Justice, his
summing up, 64.
Trinity College (Cambridge), re-
paired by Albemarle, 139.
Triumvirate — Halifax, Essex, and
Sunderland, no.
True Protestant Mercury, quotation
from, 121.
Trunk lost, Albemarle's, 54.
Turenne, his nephew, 207.
Turk's Island, 250.
Turk's Tyger or Eiger, King's frigate,
253-
Turner, Mr., strikes Mildmay, 109.
Tuscany, Grand Duke of (Cosmo dei
Medici in.), visits Newhall, 25 ;
estimate of Christopher, 26 ;
criticises dinner, 98.
U
University College, Oxford,
mentioned, 121.
Usher of the Black Rod, 174.
384
INDEX
V
Van Tromp, death of, lo.
Vane, Colonel, soldiers threaten,
56.
Vaughan, Lord, Governor of Jamaica,
283.
Venetian Ambassador, quoted, 177.
Vera Cruz, mentioned, 302.
Verney, John, concerning treasure,
251-
Ralph, letter to, 116.
Verrio, Antonio, wall paintings of,
83.
Versailles, tapestry showing, 83.
Vincent, Nathaniel (of Clare College),
correspondence with Vivian, 138.
Virginia, mines in, 266 ; mentioned,
333-
Vivian, Thomas (Albemarle's secre-
tary), correspondence with Vincent,
138 ; mentioned, 158.
Voyage to Madeira, quotation from,
247-
W
Wade, lands with Monmouth, 197.
Wapping, fire in, 163.
Warbeck, Perkin, Monmouth re-
ferred to as, 211.
Warcup, Colonel, information given
to, 114.
Walpole, Anecdotes of Painting, 68 ;
story of the Mad Duchess, 343.
Waltham Abbey (monks of), own
Newhall, 95 ; given window, 96.
fair at, 238.
Cross, Parish of, 47.
Wanstead, 236.
Ward, Col. Joseph, his pocket-book,
256 note.
Dr. Seth (Bishop of Salisbury),
sermon by, 36.
Wardrobe, the great, supplies from,
33-
Waters, Lucy, Monmouth's mother,
112.
Watson, Sir Francis, acts as judge,
299 ; Albemarle visits, 317 and
note ; acting governor, 331.
Welbeck Abbey, 28, 29 ; copies of
wills at, 64 ; Cavendish family at,
. 72 ; anxiety at, 74 ; Albemarle
visits, 87 ; Duchess of Albemarle
visits, 132, 160, 223, 339; her be-
haviour at, 161 ; mentioned, 162 ;
Duchess leaves, 227, 340.
Welbeck MSS. mentioned, 87.
Wellington, Albemarle holds, 201 ;
militia encouraged at, 202.
Wells, Monmouth goes to, 208.
Wemyss, Lord, his wife, 27.
Wentworth, Lady Henrietta, acts in
masque, 71.
West Indies, land in the, 47 ; Albe-
marle's connection with, 243 ;
mentioned, 244 ; venture in, 261 ;
protection for, 286 ; luxuries in,
319-
Westminster Abbey, Duchess of
Albemarle buried in, 35 ; funeral
of Monck, 35, 36 ; chapel in, 96 ;
Ambassador visits, 135 ; funeral
of Charles 11., 180 ; Mass said
in, 186-7 ; coronation in, 189 ;
Albemarle buried in, 334 ; Monck
monument in, 34T, 353.
Hall, trial of Stafford in, 117;
Ambassador visits, 135.
Old Palace of, mentioned, 233.
Westmoreland, Earl of (Charles
Fane), letter from, 130.
Wharton, Baron (Philip), in the
Tower, loi ; his petition, 102.
Whetstone Park, a slum of London,
48, 49, 50 ; mentioned, 63.
Whig, name comes into use, 116;
triumph of, 120 ; mentioned, 144 ;
feast of, 147 ; Sidney a, 150 ;
Rye House Plot and, 165 ; King's
cook a, 169; mentioned, 144.
White, John, dismissed from office,
312 ; scandals confirmed, 313.
Whitehall Palace, Monck lives in,
16 ; Chapter held at, 32, 41 ;
ball postponed, 48, 49 ; Monmouth
returns to, 59 ; its sins, 63 ; the
Ladies' Masque at, 71 ; furnish-
ings of, 83 ; Buckingham at, loi ;
Gates at, 106 ; garrisoned, 120 ;
Court leaves, 136 ; lodgings at, 174 ;
Sunday night at, 178; King's death
at, 179; changes noticed at, 180;
Bramston goes to, 183 ; changes at,
194; dispatches from, 201; Albe-
marle goes to, 216 ; opinion of
Albemarle, 219 ; Council meets
at, 226 ; rumours in, 233 ; ante-
rooms of, 243 ; Father Francis goes
INDEX
385
to, 263 ; Albemarle goes to, 264 ;
meeting in, 285 ; Morgan enter-
tained at, 305 ; mentioned, 150,
199, 276, 307, 314, 323.
Whitney, King visits, 121.
Widderington, mentioned, 306.
Wight, Isle of, refuge behind, 277.
William iii. (and see Orange), con-
firms orders for Jamaica, 323 ;
mentioned, 334 ; Albemarle's feel-
ing for, 335.
Williamson, Sir Joseph, his agents,
55 ; his pew, 273 ; letters from
Coventry, 93-5 ; letter from Lan-
yon, 99 ; ignorant of negotiations,
102.
Willis, Sir Richard, plots to make
Monck king, 16, 17.
Wills of Albemarle, mentioned, 64 ;
Colonel Monck's place in, 65 ;
contest over, 68 ; making of
second, 230-2; will of 1675, 340;
conditions of, 340, 341, 342.
Wiltshire, Albemarle joint Lord-
Lieutenant of, 123 ; militia, 209.
Winchester, Albemarle at races, 147 ;
races at, 155 ; Albemarle wins at,
223 ; King visits, 224.
Window, stained-glass, at Newhall,
96.
Windsor Castle, in disrepair, 42 ;
installation at, 43, 100 ; King
visits, 114; garrisoned, 120;
wrestling match at, 126 ; Albe-
marle at, 147 ; Court at, 155 ;
Albemarle goes to, 234 ; men-
tioned, 240 ; Treasury Chamber
in, 252 ; King at, 273 ; mentioned,
46, 305-
Woodcock (racehorse), 52.
Worcester, Marquis of (Henry Somer-
set), regiment of, 55 ; letter to wife,
105 ; Southwell visits, 219.
Worksop Manor, home of Lord
Ogle, 88.
Wrestling match, Albemarle diverts
the King with, 116; at Windsor,
126-7.
Wright sisters, attendants of the
Duchess, 86 ; gives orders, 329 ;
Duchess in care of, 343 ; witnesses,
345-
Wright, Lawrence, commander of
Assistance, 273 ; protects wreck,
297 ; his log-book, 317 ; pre-
pares for return, 330 ; disobeys
Watson, 330 ; discussion with
Sloane, 332 ; abandons Duchess,
333 ; reconsiders, 334.
Wynne, Luttrell, d.c.l., MSS. of,
256 note.
Owen, D.C.L., MSS. of, 256 note.
Yacht, Albemarle's, 64 ; sails for
Jamaica, 277 ; at Boston, 325 ;
receives body of Albemarle, 330 ;
Duchess embarks on, 333.
Yankee, the pirate, 300.
Yarmouth, Lord, signs petition, 163.
troops land at, 57, 58.
York Buildings, Albemarle removes
to, 172.
York, James, Duke of (see also
James 11.), present at Chapter, 32 ;
at Windsor, 42, 44 ; unable to take
oaths, 56 ; visits fleet, 57 ; at
Barn- Elms, 58 ; friendship for
Bath, 69 ; his daughters, 71 ;
becomes a Roman Catholic, 93 ;
at Newmarket, 94 ; remonstrates
with King, loi ; Popish plot, 106 ;
ordered to Brussels, no ; com-
plains of injustice, in ; influence
feared, m ; has no son, 112 ;
summoned to Court, 112 ; in Edin-
burgh, 132 ; entertained by Albe-
marle, 147 ; Rye House Plot
against, 166; comment on Sidney's
death, 168; proclaimed king, 179;
receives booty of buccaneers, 282 ;
shares in R. A. Co., 285 ; governor of
R. A. Co., 285 ; presides at R. A. Co.
meeting, 286; mentioned, 148.
Yorkshire, 47.
Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty
at the Edinburgh University Press
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